The Millstadt Green Machine picked up two big Mon-Clair League wins Sunday in Waterloo. 

Millstadt posted victories of 6-1 and 7-6 over the Buds at SPPS Field.

In the game one win, Brian Lupa went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Patrick Mendiola added two hits and two RBIs for Millstadt.

That was enough offense for Green Machine starter Jake Stedman, who went the distance after surrendering just three hits and an earned run. 

In game two, Millstadt held on for a 7-6 victory over the Buds. Waterloo plated a pair of runs in the sixth inning but was unable to tie the contest in its final at-bat.

Tony Kossina went 2-for-2 with three runs, with both Lupa and Cal Kossina driving in a pair of runs each for the Green Machine.

Millstadt’s Chance Lehman pitched five and one-third innings for the victory. 

The Green Machine dropped a 9-7 contest to the St. Louis Spikes last Wednesday. Connor Patton went 3-for-3 with two runs and Millstadt also got two hits each from Lupa, Tony Kossina and Austin Francis.

Jake Radosevich went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs to pace the Spikes.

Millstadt (6-7) is led on offense this season by Lupa, who is hitting .452 with 10 RBIs. Tony Kossina is hitting .419.

Stedman is the ace of the Green Machine pitching staff at 2-1 with a 2.47 ERA.

Millstadt plays a doubleheader at the first place Valmeyer Lakers this Saturday. 

The Lakers (11-3) won three of four games this past weekend. 

On Saturday, Valmeyer split a doubleheader with the Edwardsville Stags. The Lakers won 14-3 but then lost 7-6. 

Philip Reinhardt pitched five solid innings for the Lakers in game one, allowing just an unearned run. 

Kenny Otero went 3-for-4 with two runs. Evan Davis and Mark Nappier had two hits each. Dom Voegele and Jose Mieses drove in three runs each. 

In game two, a five-run third inning for the Stags proved to be the difference. Beau Collier went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs for Edwardsville.

Davis went 2-for-4 with a home run and Kameron Hanvey also had two hits for Valmeyer.

On Sunday, the Lakers swept a doubleheader over the Belleville Rockies, winning 8-7 and 7-1.

In game one, Valmeyer scored twice in the seventh inning to emerge victorious. Voegele homered and drove in three runs to pace the Lakers, who also got two hits each from Mieses, Jonah James, Adrian Martinez and Matt Helm. 

In game two, Valmeyer got two hits each from Davis, Voegele and James. 

Jacob Thompson pitched a complete game three-hitter with just an earned run allowed for the Lakers.

James is the top hitter for the Lakers this summer, hitting .435.

Thompson is the league’s top pitcher. He is 4-0 with a 0.25 ERA.

Waterloo (4-6) hosts Edwardsville for a Friday night doubleheader, then plays a Sunday doubleheader at Belleville. 

Ty Kueper is the leading hitter for the Buds at .522 with six RBIs. Other key hitters for the Buds include Alex Schreckenberg (7-for-14 in four games) and George Schneider (8-for-16 in seven games).

The pitchers with the most innings on Waterloo’s staff are Matt McGilvray and Aidan Lougeay.

Midsummer Classic

All six Mon-Clair teams are gearing up for the annual Valmeyer Midsummer Classic set to take place at Borsch Park on July 4 and July 6-7.

See a full tourney bracket below. 

In addition to the Lakers, Buds, Green Machine, Spikes, Rockies and Stags, former Mon-Clair team the St. Louis Printers will be in the tourney field. The eighth team is a group of current and former Lakers players known as the Moredock Mashers. 

The Mashers were formed to fill out the tourney bracket following the disbanding of the Cape Girardeau Capahas. 

Among those on the roster for Moredock include recently retired Lakers players Ethan Ruff, Matt Reinholz and Logan Mueth, past Valmeyer High School baseball standouts Cole Juelfs, Riley McCarthy and Elijah Miller, plus current VHS standouts such as Luke Blackwell and Chase Snyder. 

Read more on the Midsummer Classic in next week’s paper.