The high school baseball season got off to a fast start last week, as all five local teams saw action in recent days. 

Valmeyer is 5-2 in the early going. 

On Wednesday, Valmeyer trailed 3-2 after six innings but plated nine runs in the top of the seventh for an 11-6 win at Okawville. Jacob Brown went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and Luke Blackwell struck out nine in four innings pitched for the Pirates.

On Tuesday, the Pirates clobbered Cahokia to the tune of 16-0. Blackwell went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, and Landon Roy went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs.

On Monday, the Pirates posted a 20-10 victory over Wood River. Blackwell went 3-for-4 with a home run, triple and double, driving in seven runs for Valmeyer. Troy Neff went 5-for-5 with six RBIs.

On Saturday, Valmeyer split two games in Jacksonville. The Pirates won 4-1 over Varna Midland as Blackwell went 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, two RBIs and a four-out pitching save with three strikeouts. 

In the other game on Saturday, Valmeyer lost 11-3 to Norridge Ridgewood. The game was tied 2-2 after five innings. Neff and Jake Coats collected two hits each for the Pirates.

Last Tuesday, Valmeyer won 10-7 at Red Bud. Blackwell picked up the pitching win and collected two hits. Roy added two hits and three runs. Chase Snyder had two hits and three RBIs.

Last Monday, the Pirates lost 5-2 to the St. Louis Patriots to open the season. Valmeyer was held to just three hits on the day. 

Valmeyer plays Wednesday at Okawville, and hosts Trico on Friday. 

Blackwell is hitting .526 with 14 RBIs in the early going. Snyder is hitting .438.

Columbia is off to a 4-1 start to its season. 

On Thursday, the Eagles won two games over Clayton at Shaw Park. Lucas Riebeling struck out seven over three innings and tripled in a 5-1 win. The second game was 13-0 for Columbia as Ben Simmons went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and Sully Bonaldi smacked two doubles with three RBIs.

The Eagles won 4-0 over Harrisburg at Grizzlies Ballpark in Sauget last Saturday. Lucas Riebeling struck out seven in four no-hit innings pitched. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.

Last Friday, Columbia won 8-7 against Oswego at Grizzlies Ballpark despite trailing 7-3 after four innings. The Eagles plated a run in the fifth and then four runs in the sixth inning. Riebeling homered, with both Sully Bonaldi and Cash Bailey collecting two hits each for Columbia. 

Last Wednesday, the Eagles dropped a 3-2 contest in O’Fallon against St. Joseph Ogden to open their 2024 campaign. Logan Bosch and Mason Voegele collected two hits each in the loss.

Columbia plays Friday at Gillespie and Monday at Althoff.

Gibault dropped three games to begin its season before picking up two wins this week.

On Wednesday, Gibault picked up a 23-3 win at Cahokia. The Hawks were issued 18 free passes in the game. Noah Koeninger and Cade Kostelac collected two hits each.

The Hawks won 3-2 over New Athens on Tuesday, thanks to a 14-strikeout pitching performance by Brady Biffar.

Last Saturday, the Hawks lost 11-1 to Roxana and 9-0 to Jerseyville in a doubleheader at Jerseyville. 

Tyler Frierdich had two hits in the loss to Roxana. Darrin Kunkelman collected two of Gibault’s three total hits against Jerseyville. 

Last Wednesday, Gibault lost 11-6 at Granite City. The Hawks had 13 hits on the day but were hurt by multiple miscues in the field. Biffar, Ty Frierdich, Tyler Frierdich, JJ Kinsey and Kunkelman each collected two hits for Gibault. 

The Hawks host Marissa for a Saturday doubleheader. On Monday, Gibault plays at Belleville West.

Waterloo (2-2) split a Saturday doubleheader in Murphysboro to start its spring campaign. The Bulldogs lost 7-2 to Monticello but won 17-5 over Murphysboro.

In the loss to Monticello, Waterloo was held to three hits and its batters struck out 12 times. 

In the win against Murphysboro, Drake Luedeman went 4-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, Chaten Kirchner went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, and Chase Costello, Patrick O’Donnell, Koby Osterhage, Jack Roessler and Seth Wiechert all had two hits each. 

Waterloo played Tuesday at O’Fallon, falling 19-2.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs got a 17-strikeout complete game pitching performance from Nate Phillips in a 5-0 win over New Athens. He allowed no hits.

Waterloo hosts Sparta on Saturday and hosts Red Bud this Monday. 

Dupo opened its season with a 10-0 win last Friday against Rivers of Life Christian. The Tigers capitalized on 10 free passes, stealing eight bases in the game. 

Teegan Hargrove, Kaleb McGlasson and Brady Portell collected a hit each, which were the only three hits Dupo had on the day.

Dupo played Wednesday at Staunton, falling 15-2, and hosted Sparta on Thursday, falling 7-5, before welcoming Marissa to town this coming Tuesday.