The postseason has arrived for local high school softball teams hoping to hoist hardware this spring. 

Valmeyer (16-2) opened Class 1A Marissa Regional play Tuesday seeking revenge against Lebanon. The Pirates lost 5-2 at home to Lebanon on May 4.

Valmeyer got revenge with a 6-1 win and will now play 1 p.m. Saturday, seeking the program’s second ever regional title. Brooke Miller struck out 13 and allowed only two hits. Peyton Similey went 3-for-4 with a triple.

The winner of this regional advances to the Hardin Sectional on May 24.

Valmeyer concluded its regular season with a 17-3 victory over Cahokia on Thursday. Similey went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Kylie Sullivan went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

Last Wednesday, Valmeyer won 8-3 over Steeleville to clinch a Kaskaskia Division championship. Kylie Eschmann doubled and tripled to drive in three runs. Miller struck out nine in another complete game pitching effort. 

Miller is hitting .493 with 20 runs scored this season. The junior righthander has a 1.59 ERA in the pitching circle.

Similey, a junior catcher, has raised her season average to .516 and has 21 RBIs.

Mia McSchooler, also a junior, is hitting .463 with 17 runs.

Also in Class 1A, Gibault (7-13) ended its season with a 16-0 loss to New Athens in regional play Monday. 

On Thursday, the Hawks won 10-7 over Father McGivney to close out the regular season. Libby Mesch went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and Myah Ticer went 3-for-4 with three RBIs.

That win was preceded by losses to Sparta and Dupo last Wednesday and Tuesday. 

Mesch hit .421 this season to lead the Hawks, followed by Ashley Murphy at .404 and Emma Steibel at .400. 

Pitching was a problem all spring for Gibault, with the best ERA on the team being 7.96.

Dupo (8-11) opens Class 1A New Athens Regional play against Okawville on Wednesday. With a win, the Tigers would play Friday in the final for a berth in the Hardin Sectional. 

Dupo won 16-2 last Tuesday over Gibault, as Maddie Ehrhard homered twice with teammates Kyann Prater and Kaylyn Woods also homering. 

Prater leads Dupo in hitting this season at .531 with six home runs, 23 RBIs and 20 runs. 

Woods is hitting .530 with four homers, six triples and 11 doubles to go along with 20 RBIs and 30 runs. 

Ehrhard is hitting .365 with six homers and 22 RBIs.

In Class 2A, Columbia (16-11) begins play in the Roxana Regional on Wednesday against Piasa Southwestern. With a win, the Eagles play for the regional title at 11 a.m. Saturday. 

The winner of this regional advances to Tuesday’s Freeburg Sectional. 

Columbia concluded its regular season with a 15-0 win over Dupo on Thursday. Jaylyn Brister went 4-for-4 with a home run and seven RBIs. Emily Holmes and Elle van Breusegen each went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs. 

Brister leads the Eagles in hitting at .481 with a .512 on base percentage, six home runs and 37 RBIs. That is followed by van Breusegen at .429 with 38 runs. 

Holmes and Karsen Jany are both hitting .415 on the season, with Jany having five home runs. 

Paige Froess is 8-2 with a 2.29 ERA in the pitching circle.

Waterloo (14-12) has a couple of regular season games before it begins Class 3A Jerseyville Regional play next Wednesday against Cahokia. 

The Bulldogs posted a 6-4 win Monday over Nashville. Lilly Heck went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Emma Day and Jada Voelker collected two hits each. 

Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs lost 20-10 in eight innings to Mascoutah. Waterloo rallied for two runs each in the sixth and seventh innings to send the game in extra innings. 

Mallory Thompson and Sam Juelfs had three hits each for the Bulldogs, who committed six errors on the day. 

Waterloo plays Wednesday at Granite City and hosts Edwardsville on Friday. 

Juelfs leads the ‘Dogs in hitting at .462 with 26 runs, followed by Mia Miller at .406 with 22 RBIs.

Miller is 7-6 with a 1.56 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 94 innings pitched. 

Aiden Dintelman is hitting .366 with 21 runs in addition to being 6-4 with a 3.38 ERA as a pitcher.