The girls softball season is in full swing — except for when Mother Nature has thrown a wrench into the works.

Waterloo was able to play two games last week, winning both to improve to 7-3 on the year.

The ‘Dogs hosted Marissa last Wednesday and put on a hitting clinic. They had 13 hits in the game, seven of them doubles and two for home runs as they beat the Meteors 15-0 in five innings.

Pitcher Kasey Bradley went the distance, allowing five hits while striking out 10 to get the win. Ashley Reeder and Taylor Yearian each had a home run and 2 RBIs, and Kylie Albrecht, Kady Cecena and Katy Polacek added 2 RBIs each for Waterloo.

Friday, Waterloo faced a tough test against Dupo. When the dust settled, the ‘Dogs had a 7-2 win.

Bradley picked up her second win of the week, allowing two runs and striking out five.

“Our bats really came alive, which is giving us more confidence at the plate and takes pressure off our defense,” Waterloo head coach Sarah Renner said. “The girls are focused and working hard at practice and it is paying off in our games. We start conference this week, so we will need to continue to do the small things right and continue to keep the intensity up in games and practices.”

Waterloo plays at Jerseyville on Wednesday and at Gibault on Thursday before hosting Red Bud on Friday.

Columbia continued to hit the cover off the ball last week, blasting nine home runs over three games off the bats of several different girls as they improved their record to 11-2.

The Eagles faced Carlyle and were treated to a gem of a pitching performance by Brianna Weilbacher. She threw a no-hitter, striking out eight batters along the way. Weilbacher was just one walk away from a perfect game.

The offense put up 10 runs on nine hits to beat Carlyle 10-0 in five innings.

Taryn Pena was 1-for-2 with a home run and 2 RBIs, and Kalli Farmer was 1-for-1 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

Columbia faced Red Bud on Thursday and cruised to a 13-0 win in five innings.

Weilbacher picked up her second win of the week, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out 10.

Pena was 2-for-2 with a home run and 5 RBIs. Kelley Metter went 1-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBIs, and Claire Foster was 1-for-2 with a home run and 3 RBIs.

The Eagles faced Belleville East (10-3) on Friday in a game that went down to the wire. The Eagles jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, only to see the Lancers answer back with nine runs over the next three innings. The Eagles scored three runs in the sixth, but were unable to pull any closer and the Lancers took the game, 9-7.

Rachel Garcia led the offense, going 2-for-3 with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Caitlyn Touchette and Weilbacher also hit home runs for Columbia.

“Things are going well. I like how we are being disciplined yet aggressive at the plate. Everyone is contributing to our success. That is what I feel makes this group so unique and special,” Columbia head coach Rhonda Major said.

Columbia hosted Freeburg on Tuesday and will host Breese Central on Thursday.

After getting off to a hot start, winning six of their first seven games, Gibault had a rough week.

The Hawks (7-4) fell to Belleville East last Wednesday, 10-0, and to Triad on Thursday, 6-2.

Saturday, the Hawks split a doubleheader, losing the first game to Trico, 4-3. They snapped the losing streak in the second game, beating Roxana 8-0.

Noelle Davis picked up the win on the mound, allowing no runs on four hits and striking out eight. Morgan Bollinger led the offense, going 3-for-3 with 3 RBIs.

Dupo continued to play very good ball, taking three of four last week. Their only loss came Friday to Waterloo.

The Tigers beat New Athens last Tuesday, 2-1. Last Wednesday, they beat Chester, 4-1. Thursday, they topped Marissa, 10-0.

Megan Brown went the distance on the mound against the Meteors, allowing no runs on two hits and striking out six.

Amber Mobbs and Kailey Huesohn led the offense with 3 RBIs each.

“Wednesday’s win against Chester featured Amber Mobb’s first pitching performance of the season,” Dupo head coach Greg Pennock said. “A fine performance, allowing one hit and one run.”

As for the Waterloo loss, Pennock credited the Bulldogs for finding a way to win.

“Waterloo is a very good team and we had a very poor defensive effort and not our best effort from the plate, either,” he said. “We need to play much better than we did this day if we want to put up a win against a high quality team like Waterloo.”

Pennock said the team’s leading hitter is Rachael Donald.

“She has some pretty impressive offensive stats and is doing a tremendous job behind the plate,” he said.

The Tigers will play in the O’Fallon Tournament this weekend, taking on Du Quoin, Edwardsville, Piasa Southwestern, O’Fallon and Triad.

“Playing tough competition is the best way to improve and that’s our number one goal, to keep improving,” he said.

Valmeyer only played one game last week, losing 17-1 to Freeburg.

“We lost Miranda Kaufmann for the remainder of the season to a knee injury that occurred during our first game with New Athens,” Valmeyer coach Rich Kasson said. “We started Jordyn Killy at pitcher. She did well for her first start of the season. We made a lot of mistakes. We have to concentrate on making the routine plays and limiting our errors.”