The annual battle for local baseball bragging rights takes place this Saturday in Valmeyer. 

The Monroe County Baseball Tournament will feature Valmeyer, Waterloo, Columbia and Gibault. The Pirates and Hawks play at 10 a.m. at Borsch Park, with Columbia and Waterloo battling at 10 a.m. at Valmeyer High School. 

The championship game will take place at 12:30 p.m. at Borsch, with the third place game at 12:30 p.m. at VHS.

Columbia (19-6-1) won 3-2 at Belleville West on Monday. Dom Voegele pitched a complete game two-hitter with nine strikeouts for the Eagles, with Aidan Gaither and Lucas Riebeling each driving in a run. 

On Tuesday, the Eagles scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to best Gibault, 10-6.

OnWednesday, Columbia kept the good times rolling with a 9-6 victory at home over Piasa Southwestern.

On Saturday, Columbia downed Freeburg, 7-6, to clinch at least a share of the Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division crown. Logan Mueller went 3-for-4 with a home run and Kyle McConachie went 3-for-4 with a double and two runs. 

On Friday, the Eagles lost 10-5 at Triad. 

Last Wednesday, Columbia blasted Roxana, 10-0. Voegele again pitched a gem, striking out 10 in five innings of one-hit ball. He was also 2-for-2 with an RBI at the plate. 

Alex Schreckenberg went 2-for-3 with three RBIs for the Eagles, who host Piasa Southwestern on Wednesday and Mascoutah on Friday.

McConachie is hitting .408 with 12 doubles and 24 runs, followed by Mueller at .406 with five home runs and 24 RBIs. Mueller is also 4-0 with a 2.94 ERA on the mound. Voegele is hitting .343 with 21 RBIs to go along with a 5-3 pitching mark and 2.47 ERA.

Columbia will compete in the Class 2A Marquette Regional starting May 18 against the winner of Staunton vs. Roxana. With a win, the Eagles would play May 21 for the regional title. 

Waterloo (13-13) lost 12-0 to Mascoutah on Monday, as the Bulldogs were held to just four hits. Bryce Reese doubled for the ‘Dogs.

On Tuesday, the ‘Dogs lost 5-3 to Nashville despite a 3-for-3 showing from Nate Phillips.

On Wednesday, Waterloo lost 4-3 to Mascoutah. Evan Davis went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Last Wednesday, Waterloo won 10-4 and 6-2 over Civic Memorial. Reese and Davis each went 4-for-7 on the day. Nolan Veto pitched six and two-thirds solid innings with 10 strikeouts and Phillips followed with a complete game two-hitter.

Waterloo hosts Granite City on Friday. 

Davis, a junior, is hitting .479 with a .563 on base percentage, 23 RBIs, 12 doubles, five triples and 18 runs. 

Phillips is hitting .333 and Chase Veto is hitting .328 with 25 runs. 

The Class 3A regional pairings have not yet been announced. 

Prior to Tuesday’s loss to Columbia, Gibault (13-16) won 20-5 over Metro East Lutheran on Monday, which was senior night. Jude Green, a senior, went 4-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Tyler Frierdich and Kameron Hanvey each added four hits and five RBIs in the victory. 

On Saturday, Gibault lost 11-8 to Belleville West and 16-7 to Althoff. Daniel Darin had a home run and three RBIs against Belleville West. Frierdich, Green and Hanvey collected two hits each against Althoff. 

Last Wednesday, Gibault won 7-1 over Mater Dei. Hanvey, a junior, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Brady Biffar and Green added two hits and Darin threw a complete game three-hitter with 16 strikeouts. 

Hanvey leads the Hawks in hitting at .447 with a .602 on base percentage, 11 doubles, 30 RBIs, 40 runs and 19 stolen bases. 

Darin is hitting .439 with a .610 on base percentage, four homers, 35 RBIs and 28 runs to go along with a 4-2 pitching mark and 2.73 ERA.

Hudson Blank is hitting .367.

The Hawks host the Class 1A Gibault Regional and will face the winner of Dupo vs. Lebanon at 4:30 p.m. May 18. The regional final is 11 a.m. May 21. 

Valmeyer (5-18) is also in the Gibault Regional and will open at home Monday against Metro-East Lutheran. With a win, the Pirates would face Marissa on May 18. 

Valmeyer lost 5-4 at Lebanon on Monday and lost 10-2 to New Athens on Wednesday. Elijah Miller went 3-for-3 on Wednesday.

The Pirates lost 10-6 to Red Bud last Wednesday. Jordan McSchooler went 2-for-3 with two runs for Valmeyer. Noah Gantner went 4-for-5 for Red Bud.

On Thursday, Valmeyer won 5-2 over Marissa. Miller went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Last Tuesday, Valmeyer lost 5-1 to Dupo. Evan Rowe-Brown doubled for the Pirates, who play Wednesday at New Athens and Thursday at Marissa.

Rowe-Brown is hitting .377 with five doubles and 10 RBIs to lead the Pirates. On the mound, he’s 2-3 with a 5.11 ERA. Clay Juelfs is hitting .338 with 13 runs.

Dupo (2-12) got a star showing from Chance Hunter in last week’s win over Valmeyer. Hunter went 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs and threw a complete game three-hitter.

He’s hitting .353 to lead Dupo and has a 2.80 ERA in 35 innings pitched. 

On Wednesday, the Tigers lost 6-1 to Steeleville. Nate Ticer went 2-for-3.

Last Wednesday, Dupo dropped a 12-2 contest to Gillespie at GCS Ballpark in Sauget. Conner Smitt went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.

Dupo plays Thursday at Lebanon before battling Lebanon again in regional play Monday.