The postseason starts next week for four of five local high school softball teams. 

The regional schedules for Class 1A-2A were announced recently, with Class 3A set to be announced Wednesday. 

Waterloo (20-6) will compete in the Class 3A Triad Regional, starting with a 4:30 p.m. May 21 contest against Centralia. Other teams in the regional are Cahokia, East St. Louis and Triad.

On Thursday, the Bulldogs lost 8-4 to Waltonville. Samantha Juelfs went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Waterloo won 8-0 over Highland last Wednesday, getting an 11-strikeout three-hitter from senior pitcher Mia Miller. She also inflicted damage with the bat, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Juelfs also collected three hits for Waterloo.

Last Tuesday, the Bulldogs won 4-1 over Civic Memorial. Miller was dominating yet again in the pitching circle, striking out 13 over seven innings. Grayce Meyer went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Miller, Waterloo’s all-time career strikeouts leader, is 12-4 on the season with a 1.02 ERA and 181 strikeouts in 96 and one-third innings. She’s also hitting .324.

Top hitters for the ‘Dogs this spring are Juelfs at .443 with 13 doubles, 25 runs and 20 RBIs, Raelyn Melching at .431 with six home runs, seven doubles and 34 RBIs, and Mallory Thompson at .420 with 12 doubles and 25 runs. 

Waterloo plays Friday at Mascoutah and hosts Jerseyville on Monday.

Columbia (17-10) competes in Class 2A softball and will play at the Wesclin Regional on May 15 against the winner of Althoff vs. Wood River. Other teams in this regional are Wesclin and Breese Central. The regional final is May 17.

The Eagles had two recent games come down to the seventh inning, one good and the other not so much.

Last Tuesday, Columbia trailed 6-5 into the seventh inning at Roxana before plating two in the top half of the seventh. The Eagles held on for the 7-6 win. Elle van Breusegen and Paige Webb each had two hits, with Emily Webb pitching three innings for the victory. 

Last Thursday, the Eagles led 3-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, but saw Freeburg plate three in its final at-bat for the victory. 

Columbia hosted Breese Central on Thursday, winning 4-2. A three-run second inning proved to be the difference for the Eagles.

Leading the offense is Elle van Breusegen at .488 with 32 runs and 13 stolen bases, followed by Jaylyn Brister at .434 with 31 RBIs and 23 runs. Paige Froess is hitting .429 with 22 RBIs and is 4-4 in the pitching circle with a 1.94 ERA. 

Emily Webb is 6-3 with a 1.65 ERA.

Columbia hosts Wood River on Friday.

Valmeyer, Gibault and Dupo will all be playing in the Class 1A Valmeyer Regional that begins this coming Monday.

Dupo plays Monday at Gibault to start regional play, with the winner taking on Marissa. Valmeyer hosts New Athens on May 15. The regional final is May 18.

Valmeyer (12-5) picked up a 10-1 win on Thursday over Marissa, clinching a share of the Kaskaskia Division in the Cahokia Conference. Brooke Miller struck out 10 and Avery Proffer collected three hits.

The Pirates won 11-0 over Dupo last Tuesday, with the Pirates pounding out 14 hits. Miller pitched a complete game two-hitter. Alex DeLuca, Proffer and Rylee Nagel each drove in two runs for the Pirates.

Last Wednesday, Valmeyer lost 11-5 at Wesclin. 

Miller is hitting .490 with three home runs, three triples, 12 stolen bases and 23 runs. As a pitcher, she has a 1.72 ERA.

Gibault (6-13) won 14-2 over Father McGivney on Thursday. Sophie Winkler went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Chloe Lancaster went 2-for-4 with five RBIs to pace the Hawks.

Gibault lost 15-3 to Mater Dei last Wednesday. Libby Mesch hit a three-run homer for the Hawks.

Last Thursday, Gibault lost 11-0 to Nashville. Myah Ticer, Lauren Lanham and Karina Jerkatis collected the team’s only three hits on the day. 

Mesch, a senior, is the top hitter this spring for the Hawks at .538 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

Dupo (1-13) lost 9-5 to Steeleville last Thursday, getting two hits each from Keara Prater, Kylie Fillinger and Maddie Ehrhard. 

Prater, a freshman, leads the Tigers in hitting this season at .387 with eight stolen bases and 11 runs. 

Ehrhard, a senior, is hitting .353 with 12 RBIs.