Pictured, local veteran and Valmeyer American Legion Post 901 member Glenn Coats throws the ceremonial first pitch prior to Saturday’s opening game of the round robin tournament played at Borsch Park. (Corey Saathoff photo)

In its inaugural season, the Valmeyer Post 901 Senior American Legion baseball team is off to a strong start.

Post 901 fielded only a junior legion team the past few summers, but had enough players to add a senior legion squad to the mix in 2017.

Featuring several players from the state runner-up Valmeyer High School team this spring, Post 901 is 11-5-1 on the season. Other members of the team played this spring at Columbia High School.

Leading the way on offense for Valmeyer is centerfielder Jake Krekel. Picking up where he left off for the Pirates in the spring, Krekel is hitting .477 with two triples and 13 runs scored already this summer.

Another key player has been Columbia’s Kyle Steve, who is hitting .384 with five doubles while providing solid infield play and pitching.

Tyler Kempfer, the catcher for the Pirates this spring, is hitting .378 with 12 RBIs and 13 runs.

Easton Wallace and Drew Maus are each hitting .350 to further bolster the Post 901 lineup.

The team won the Saluki Invitational tournament played June 17-19 in Carbondale, going 5-0. Post 901 defeated the Southern Indiana Spikes, 8-5, in the title game.

Valmeyer topped East St.Louis, 14-4, last Tuesday at Borsch Park. Krekel went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and Maus went 2-for-3 with two runs behind solid pitching from Stephen Redinger.

Post 901 hosted a round robin tournament this past weekend, which included Steeleville, Trenton and Jerseyville.

Waterloo SLABA update
Also enjoying a successful summer season is the Waterloo Bulldogs 18U team that plays in the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association.

The Bulldogs entered the week with a record of 5-2, good for second place in the 18SE Division.

Waterloo battled the Easton Tigers on Monday in Brentwood, Mo., and played at Belleville East on Tuesday. The team hosts Mascoutah on Wednesday night.

Dylan Siebenberger and Bryce Kirk are leading the team in hitting, according to coach Tony Morrow, while Ian Hughes has been “playing the slugger role” this summer.

Waterloo also fields two 12U squads this summer. One is in first place in the Affton 12U League and the other is in third place in the Freeburg 12U American Division.

Both 12U squads have played roughly 40 games and four tournaments this summer, Morrow said.