Rivalries tend to spice up our sports.

That’s never been more evident than now concerning local high schools.

In what has the potential to become an ultra-successful spring sports season for numerous prep team in the area, rivalry clashes are carrying a lot more weight these days.

Last Thursday night at Kelly Automotive Park, Moniteau’s baseball team remained undefeated in conference play by scoring four times in the seventh inning to beat Karns City, 4-2.

The Gremlins have only lost two games all season themselves.

While rain has wreaked havoc with both teams’ schedules this spring, neither Moniteau nor Karns City had lost a softball game as of this writing. They are scheduled to face each other in mid-May, just before the start of the District 9 playoffs.

There’s a good chance they will pair with each other then, as well.

Butler seems to chase North Allegheny in numerous sports almost all of the time. The Golden Tornado have a legitimate chance to tame the Tigers in two of them early this week.

Butler’s baseball team plays host to NA on Monday night at Kelly Automotive Park. The Tornado are unbeaten in section play while the Tigers have one loss. That single defeat was by a 2-1 count against Butler in Wexford earlier this year.

How interesting that rematch ought to be.

Still more interesting might be the boys volleyball match between the two schools Tuesday night in the Butler gym.

The Tornado have never bested the Tigers in boys volleyball. But Butler is enjoying one of the best seasons in the program’s history and came within a whisker of upending NA on the road earlier.

That match should bed played in front of a packed house — and could be one of Butler’s biggest sporting events of the year.

Knoch and Mars have gone at each other in numerous sports for years and will do so in baseball and softball this week with plenty on the line.

The baseball teams meet Friday. Both were tied for second in the section Thursday with 5-2 records.

The softball teams face each other Thursday with both entertaining section title hopes. Mars was 4-1 in section play, Knoch 6-2. The Planets won a thriller in their first meeting at Laura Doerr Park.

Finally, Seneca Valley and North Allegheny are tied at the top of their section standings, along with Shaler, in softball. SV and NA will play each other April 22 in a battle to see which one stays in the title hunt.

Slippery Rock’s baseball team is trying to force a changing of the guard in District 10, where rival Grove City ruled the roost for years. High school rivalries are always fun to begin with. The players get up for those games a little more than others.

When both teams are good, the atmosphere gets spiked up. There’s more of a buzz around school and more people attend the game.

It’s just plain more fun.

And this has been a fun spring.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle