Crawfordsville High School will be the site of the 2025 American Legion Baseball State Finals. Eight teams will vie for the championship beginning Friday with the tournament continuing until Tuesday. Teams will compete for the right to play in the Aug. 6-10 Midwest Regional at Carol Steam, Illinois.
Crawfordsville won the bid to host the tournament which is expected to bring in many visitors. Post 72 Head Coach Kyle Proctor is excited to be the host team.
“This is a great opportunity for our community to see some of the best players in Indiana compete against each other,” he said. “We are working hard to put on a good experience for the teams and fans. Crawfordsville is good at showing hospitality to those from out of town and we are confident American Legion fans and officials will enjoy being here. I hope the community comes out to support our team but also support the other teams.”
Tournament organizers have decorated the Athenian Baseball Complex with plenty of patriotic buntings and flags. There will be several food trucks available in the parking area next to John Froedge Field that will be accessible without paid admission to the games.
Tickets will be on sale at the baseball field and are priced at $10 per day. The daily ticket enables fans to watch all the games on the day of purchase.
Post 72 enters the tournament with an 18-8-1 record. The local team has won eight out of their last nine games, including five in a row.
Post 72 won the Muncie Regional last weekend and looks to continue its winning ways Friday. The local squad’s first game in the double elimination tournament is 8 p.m. Friday against Rockport Post 254.
The tournament will kickoff at 11 a.m. Friday when Muncie Post 19 plays Madison Post 9. The opening ceremonies will begin at approximately 10:30 a.m.
Other games on Friday are Terre Haute Post 346 versus Valparaiso Post 94 at 2 p.m. followed by South Haven Post 502 playing Evansville Post 8 at 5 p.m.
Proctor likes the chances for his ball club to have a good tournament.
“We have been playing well as of late,” Proctor said. “We have had our ups and downs this season and have had our share of injuries. But the guys have hung in there. They are a fun bunch to be around and they have bonded well.”
The local team has proven to be fighters. Several of their came after falling behind in games. The “never-say-die” attitude has become a characteristic of the team.
“We will play hard and we don’t give up,” Proctor said. “We are proud to be hosting the state finals and we want to do well in front of the home fans. We hope our community will come out and cheer on this team representing our own Crawfordsville Byron Cox Post 72.”
