All three local Mon-Clair League baseball squads are riding winning streaks entering Valmeyer Midsummer Classic play this weekend. 

The Waterloo Buds (9-6) are winners of six straight after posting three victories over the weekend. 

On Friday night, the Buds posted a 10-0 win over Cape Girardeau. Blake McGillicuddy threw seven shutout innings, striking out 11 and allowing just three hits. 

Offensively, Ryan Weston went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs, Matt Pay went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Trey Kueper went 2-for-3, Ryan Bell went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Grant Steffen went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Buds. 

On Sunday, Waterloo won 6-5 and 2-1 over the St. Louis Spikes. 

In the first game, Eli Dale picked up the mound victory with six strikeouts over five innings and Nate Albrecht recorded a two-inning save. 

Albrecht also went 3-for-3 with three runs scored. Keegan Baxmeyer was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored and Braeden Dobbs went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

In game two, Waterloo’s Levi Ebersoldt threw a complete game with eight strikeouts. 

Down 1-0 in the fourth inning, Baxmeyer singled and later scored on a double by Kueper, who subsequently scored on a double by Dale.  

“Very solid defense and pitching performances by both teams in a well-played series,” first-year Buds manager Barry Grant said of Sunday’s games. 

Albrecht leads Waterloo in hitting this summer at .442.

The Valmeyer Lakers (10-3) remain the top team in the league after picking up a 6-5 win Saturday over the Edwardsville Aces. Valmeyer’s Sunday doubleheader was rained out.

Trevor Davis went 2-for-4 and also threw four innings for the victory. The righthander is now 4-0 with a 1.50 ERA on the mound and is hitting .436 with 11 runs and 10 RBIs for Valmeyer.

Ethan Ruff, Logan Mueth and Matt Reinholz each collected two hits for the Lakers in Saturday’s win. 

The Millstadt Green Machine (8-4) picked up three more wins this past weekend. 

On Saturday, Millstadt pounded the Spikes to the tune of 13-4. John Hilpert homered and both Jack Toenjes and Joey Kossina went 4-for-6. 

Hard-throwing righty Mac Grant earned the mound victory with five solid innings pitched.

On Sunday, the Green Machine won a pair over Cape Girardeau, 7-2 and 1-0. 

In the first game, Andrew Yancik struck out eight over six innings and Tony Kossina, Cal Kossina and Collin Shea each collected two hits. 

In the second game, southpaw Joey Kossina hurled a complete game two-hitter with four strikeouts. Shea went 2-for-2 and Cal Kossina contributed a double and RBI.

Toenjes leads Millstadt in hitting so far this season at .489 with 12 runs. 

The 50th annual Valmeyer Midsummer Classic takes place this Saturday through Monday at Borsch Park, starting with the Belleville Rockies vs. the Southeast Missouri Tropics at 9 a.m. Saturday. 

See the full tourney bracket by clicking here. Read a feature on the origins of this popular regional baseball showcase by clicking here.