The Gibault and Columbia baseball teams enjoyed success over the weekend while Waterloo split two recent conference contests and Valmeyer is in the midst of a losing streak.

The Hawks (13-3) dropped a 5-4 contest at Mascoutah last Tuesday. The game was tied 4-4 into the sixth inning. Tim Reinholz homered for the Hawks. 

Mark Branz continued his stellar senior baseball season at Gibault, throwing a six-inning no-hitter Thursday at Okawville. The Hawks won 11-0 in six innings, with Branz also going 2-for-4 at the plate. Max Kostelac homered and made a great defensive play to preserve the no-no.

Ian Metcalf went 3-for-4 with five RBIs for the Hawks,

On Friday, Gibault won 11-5 at Wesclin on Friday. Kostelac went 2-for-3 with another home run and three RBIs and Austin Sweeney went 2-for-4 with three RBIs for the Hawks, who play a doubleheader at Freeburg on Saturday.

Branz is hitting .429 with 19 runs, 16 RBIs, 12 doubles and 11 stolen bases and is 3-0 with a 1.69 ERA on the mound.

Tate Schilling is hitting .412 with 15 stolen bases and 12 runs. Cole Buckner is hitting .409 with 18 RBIs and Metcalf is up to .395 with 15 RBIs.

Columbia won 8-4 at Salem last Tuesday, with Logan Denison picking up the pitching win for the Eagles.

On Thursday, Columbia won 13-3 over Breese Central. Shane Wilhelm hit two home runs and struck out nine in five and two-thirds innings for the mound victory. 

The Eagles continued to soar with wins over Mater Dei and Belleville East on Saturday in Belleville. 

Columbia (13-4) defeated Mater Dei, 5-2, thanks to a four-run fifth inning. Columbia also edged Belleville East, 4-3, by plating a run in the top of the seventh inning.

The Eagles played at Wesclin on Tuesday, travel to Valmeyer on Wednesday and host Dupo this coming Monday. 

Sam Horner leads the team in hitting at .479 with 22 runs and six stolen bases, followed by AJ Mueller at .411 with four home runs and 24 RBIs.

Jonah James (.389), Josh Marion (.364, 20 runs, eight stolen bases) and Shane Wilhelm (.364) are also among the offensive leaders.

Denison is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA and Wilhelm is 3-1 with a 0.83 ERA.

Waterloo (9-4) won 6-4 at home against Highland last Wednesday in a Mississippi Valley Conference showdown. Marcus Heusohn went 3-for-4 with a home run and Trey Kueper also homered. Josh Wittenauer added three hits for the orange-and-black Bulldogs.

On Friday, Waterloo lost 4-3 in eight innings to Mater Dei. The Knights scored three runs in the seventh inning and one in the eighth to down the ‘Dogs.

In another MVC clash on Monday, Waterloo fell 7-5 to Triad. Heusohn went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Ty Kueper added two hits for the Bulldogs, who play at Jerseyville on Wednesday, at Collinsville on Friday and host Carterville this Saturday before hosting MVC foe Civic Memorial on Monday.

Ty Kueper is sizzling at the plate with a .633 average and .738 on base percentage to lead Waterloo. He also has 11 RBIs. 

Other hot hitters for the ‘Dogs are Heusohn (.448, 10 RBIs) and Tommy Carr (.412).

Drake Downing leads the Waterloo pitching staff at 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA, followed by Dustin Crawford at 4-1 with a 3.71 ERA.

Valmeyer (9-12) lost 3-1 to Steeleville last Tuesday. The Pirates were held to just three hits in the game.

On Thursday, Valmeyer picked up a 9-6 victory at home over Dupo with a strong wind gusting throughout the contest.

Sam Fitzwilliam smacked two home runs for Valmeyer, his first career varsity round-trippers. Logan Seidler went 2-for-3 with four RBIs.

Valmeyer dropped three games at the South Central Wooden Bat Classic over the weekend. The Pirates lost 8-2 to North Clay on Friday. On Saturday, Valmeyer lost 9-1 to South Central and 5-4 to Flora. 

Seidler went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs against Flora. 

The Pirates lost 20-0 to the St. Louis Patriots at GCS Ballpark on Monday.

Valmeyer continued its busy week with a game against New Athens on Tuesday. The Pirates host Columbia on Wednesday and Lebanon on Thursday, play at Chester on Friday and travel to Gibault on Monday.

Riley McCarthy continues to lead the Pirates on offense with a .421 average and 24 RBIs to go along with 16 runs. 

Seidler is hitting .350 with 19 RBIs. Philip Reinhardt is next at .339 with 16 runs to go along with a 3-1 record and 1.62 ERA on the mound.

Dupo (4-7) defeated Lebanon last Tuesday, 9-6. Tyler Kyle went 2-for-5 with three RBIs for the Tigers, who host Wesclin on Wednesday, play at Marissa on Thursday and travel south to Columbia this coming Monday.

Kyle is the offensive leader for the Tigers with a .421 average and 11 runs. Devin Similey is next at .351.

Nik Houston has been good out of the bullpen, going 2-0 with a 2.17 ERA and one save for Dupo.