Gibault prevails in baseball ‘Battle of Waterloo’
The atmosphere is almost always electric when cross-town rivals compete in a sporting event.
Saturday morning was no different, as Gibault and Waterloo met for battle on the baseball diamond at Ss. Peter & Paul Field.
The Hawks outlasted the Bulldogs, 4-2, largely thanks to the arm and bat of Auggie Ward. He pitched six strong innings and evened the game 2-2 in the fourth inning with a two-out, two-run home run.>>>
Later, Mitch Meyer hit an RBI double to give the Hawks a lead they would not relinquish.
Waterloo starter Jeremy Rettig pitched well in defeat, as the Bulldogs’ offense squandered multiple scoring opportunities throughout the game.
Brett Degener got the scoring going for the Bulldogs in the top of the fourth with a two-run double. But those were the only runs the Bulldogs could muster in the contest.
“It was extremely frustrating,” Waterloo head coach Mark Vogel said, pointing to several missed opportunities — including 11 runners left in scoring position for the game. “But give Gibault credit. Their senior class, they are winners.”
Gibault head coach Any Skaer said his team bounced back after giving up two unearned runs to pull out the win.
“We put a pretty good effort together,” he said.
After Ward tied it with his home run, the deciding runs came in the fifth inning when Zach Neff led off with a walk. Chase Dugan followed with a sacrifice bunt, but the ‘Dogs could not record the out. Then Meyer came through with the RBI double. Dugan later scored on a balk for the 4-2 final tally.
“Freshman Tyler Brinkmann came in to get the last five outs, striking out the last two for his first varsity save,” Skaer said.
Both hometown teams lost to Missouri baseball powerhouse CBC in separate Saturday afternoon games played after the “Battle of Waterloo.”
Last Wednesday, Waterloo picked up a nice win at home against Alton, 9-4.
“It was a sloppy game, but it was nice to see Austin Nunnery get the win despite pitching without his best stuff,” Vogel said.
Austin Campbell had a clutch two-run double and another hit on the day. Sean O’Guin and Nathan Goodsell also contributed at the plate for the ‘Dogs, who stood at 5-2-1 heading into Tuesday’s conference opener at Triad.
Wednesday in another Mississippi Valley Conference tilt.
“We’re pretty excited to start conference play,” Vogel said. “It’s going to be a 10-game slugfest in the MVC.”
Waterloo will host Collinsville at 10 a.m. on Friday.
Gibault stands at 9-5 on the season heading into games against Vianney on Wednesday and at home against Okawville on Thursday.
The Hawks busted out the bats in wins last week against Alton Marquette, Red Bud and Valmeyer.
Gibault won 10-6 against Marquette, 22-1 against Red Bud, and 19-6 against Valmeyer.
“Overall, we had a pretty good week,” Skaer said. “Scoring 51 runs in three games, we obviously had many offensive stars.”
Jordan McFarland continues to lead the team in most offensive categories, including batting average (.450). Wes Degener has also been a tough out, posting a .436 average.
Gibault got pitching wins from Ward, Neff and Dugan.
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Columbia is 8-4 on the spring following two wins and a tough one-run loss last week.
Against Carlyle, the Eagles had a 4-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning but wound up losing 5-4.
KJ Spisak went 3-for-4 at the plate and Cole Foster added two RBIs.
Columbia bounced back with a 6-1 win against Okawville behind five strong innings from pitcher Cole Foster. Spisak and Cameron Shewfelt collected two hits apiece.
Josh Fleming threw another outstanding game against Red Bud, limiting them to one hit with nine strikeouts as Columbia came out on top, 6-0.
Spisak, Quinten Spivey, and Camren Touchette each had two hits.
Touchette leads the team in hitting at .436, followed by Spisak at .395.
The Eagles played host to Freeburg on Tuesday and play at home Wednesday against New Athens and Thursday against Breese Central.
Dupo, meanwhile, is on a roll, having won three games in a row last week.
The Tigers (6-4) defeated New Athens last Tuesday, 8-5, Chester last Wednesday, 5-4, and Marissa on Thursday, 14-4.
“Beating a good New Athens team set the tone and we kept it rolling coming back against Chester late in the game,” Dupo head coach Brad Daubach said. “The Marissa game, we really just had solid at bats and played really good defense.”
Daubach also said the double play has been a critical play for his team this year.
“(We’ve turned) at least six off the top of my head, compared to only turning two all year last year,” he said. “It really takes the pressure off our pitchers and provides a great boost to our team.”
Freshman Austin Francis has 16 RBIs in 11 games, leading the team.
“He has been a huge part of our team,” Daubach said.
Corey Biggs (.452) and Joey Mirabal (.435) are also boosting the offense for the Tigers, who played Lebanon Tuesday and have games at Steeleville on Thursday, and at home against Madison on Friday and Carlyle on Saturday.
Valmeyer (3-10) won its first conference game of the spring last Tuesday, defeating Steeleville 7-1. Mark Nappier smacked a two-run homer and a double, and Dakota Maus added three hits to go with a dominating pitching performance.
Hunter Brewer pitched a nice game against Lebanon on Thursday, Valmeyer head coach Greg Reinhardt said, but the Pirates fell 7-5.
On Friday, the Pirates were handed a 19-6 loss at the hands of Gibault. Zach Williams was a bright spot for the team with a 3-for-3 day offensively.
Saturday, the Pirates lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Althoff. Williams pitched a three-hitter in defeat, Reinhardt said.
The second game of the doubleheader was not as close, with the Pirates falling 15-5.
Valmeyer played at rival New Athens on Tuesday and will host Marissa on Thursday and Brussels on Friday morning.
Waterloo hosts Jerseyville.
