It was a busy opening week for local high school softball squads on the first week of spring. 

Waterloo, last year’s IHSA Class 3A fourth place  state finisher, got out to a 3-1 start to its 2025 campaign. 

The Bulldogs began the season with a 12-0 victory over Breese Central last Wednesday, getting home runs from Aidan Dintelman, Mallory Thompson and Haley Tomanovich. 

On Saturday, Waterloo split a pair of games in Jacksonville. 

The Bulldogs lost 11-2 to Dunlap despite two hits each from Taryn Kern and Kate Lindhorst.

In a 14-1 victory over Genoa-Kingston, Dintelman pitched a complete game and collected two hits. Lindhorst went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, with Ava Brown going 2-for-2 with three RBIs.

On Monday, Waterloo won 6-2 over Belleville East thanks to a three-run fifth inning. Dintelman smacked two homers, driving in three runs while also pitching a complete game. Samantha Juelfs also homered and drove in three runs.

Dintelman is hitting .462 with three home runs and seven RBIs in addition to her 3-0 pitching mark with 0.41 ERA.

Waterloo plays Wednesday at O’Fallon, travels Friday to Wood River and hosts Freeburg on Monday.

Columbia is 2-1 in the early going.

The Eagles opened with a 14-3 win last Monday at Gibault, getting a double and grand slam off the bat of Alayna Nobbe. Kaylee Bosch added two hits and four RBIs.

Last Tuesday, Columbia won 5-4 over Jerseyville as Elle van Breusegen went 4-for-4 with five stolen bases and three runs.

On Friday, it was a 5-3 loss for the Eagles despite home runs by Sam Augustine and Reese Jarrard. 

Columbia played Tuesday at Belleville West, hosts Mater Dei on Wednesday, plays Thursday at Mascoutah and then travels south to Marion for a Saturday doubleheader.

Gibault is off to a 2-2 start to its season. 

After losses last Monday and Tuesday to Columbia and Valmeyer, respectively, the Hawks won 16-14 last Wednesday over Roxana. Hope Chambers went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Claire Kessler, Chloe Lancaster, Lauren Lanham and Sophie Winkeler all added two hits apiece.

On Friday, it was an 11-9 victory for Gibault at Marquette. Karina Jerkatis went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs. Lanham added three hits and two runs. Ashley Murphy collected two hits in addition to picking up the pitching win.

Gibault hosted Civic Memorial on Tuesday, plays Thursday at Cahokia and Friday at New Athens, travels Saturday to Marissa for a doubleheader and then hosts Althoff on Monday.

Valmeyer split two recent games to open its season. 

Last Tuesday, the Pirates won 10-8 over Gibault. Avery Proffer went 2-for-3 with a homer and four RBIs to pace Valmeyer. Madisyn Huddleston collected three hits and drove in two runs in addition to getting the pitching win. 

On Thursday, it was a 17-2 loss for the Pirates to Red Bud. Proffer had a double and two RBIs for Valmeyer, which plays Okawville on Wednesday in Waterloo. 

Dupo opened its 2025 campaign with two convincing victories.

Last Monday, the Tigers won 12-2 over Metro East Lutheran. Adrienne Latimer was dancing all around the base, going 3-for-4 with two runs.

On Thursday, Dupo won 19-0 over East St. Louis, getting four RBIs each from Addy Mitchell and Kaitlyn Roberts. Keara Prater and Kylie Kloess had three hits each for the Tigers, who host Staunton on Wednesday, play Thursday at Sparta, play Monday at Belleville West and then host Red Bud on Tuesday.