The City of Crown Point and the South Shore Convention & Visitors Authority (CVA) welcomed 25 baseball teams and nearly 400 players representing five countries to the Cal Ripken 10U World Series. Hosted at Jerry Ross Park, a premiere facility featuring three fields, the teams are set to spend the next week battling for a World Series crown.
The array of competitors includes teams from Indiana, Alabama, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. Four international teams, representing Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, and Panama are also taking the field. The tournament opened on Friday, August 9, with an opening ceremony that included a parade of teams, a flyover, and plenty of local food.
“A lot of hard work has gone into this starting from last year; a lot of the teams weren’t even determined until a week ago,” said Jay Patel, Crown Point Youth Baseball’s Treasurer. “This is the fun part of it all, seeing all these teams get together. Tomorrow the games start up and things get a little more competitive.”
Before the ceremony officially began, players spent time canvassing Bulldog Park – searching for players from each team in order to swap pins with their team logos on them. Some players pinned their prizes to their caps, others lined their lanyards with them.
“My older son played last year, he’s 11 so he’s not this year, but he’s been running around the whole complex today searching for pins,” Patel said. “He’s really focused on the international group. I think meeting those players provides culture for the kids, and it helps them understand a little more about how the world operates.”
Panama, Germany, and Australia have all been called home by a number of professional baseball players – including active players such as Miguel Amaya of the Cubs, Max Kepler of the Twins, and Curtis Mead of the Rays. The last Czech-born player to reach the Majors did so in 1952, but baseball is experiencing something of a boom in the country following the Czech national team’s underdog appearance in 2023’s World Baseball Classic.
“It’s fantastic to see these international kids getting into baseball, especially from Europe,” Patel said. “I know Germany’s head coach played here in the States at a college level, so he was super motivated to get his team out here. Panama you kind of expect and Australia came last year, but it’s very unique to see multiple countries represented from every which way.”
Crown Point is set to host the tournament for years to come, and South Shore CVA President Phil Taillon credited the City of Crown Point and Crown Point Youth Baseball for their efforts in championing the Region as a growing hub for international sports.
“To see the kids here, excited, after working as hard as they have – it’s amazing for Northwest Indiana to be a part of that,” Taillon said. “If you don’t have motivated people like the Cal Ripken group, things like this would never happen. I’ve talked to some of the folks running this tournament, and they’re already talking about expanding it further over the next couple of years. The South Shore CVA wants to help in any way we can because this is great for Northwest Indiana and beyond.”
Following the ceremony, the players took part in the Skills Competition Finals, it served as an appetizer for the games to come. Crown Point Mayor Pete Land addressed the players before they set out.
“The tournament’s finally here and I’m so excited,” said Pete Land, Crown Point Mayor. “All of your hard work has led you to this moment. I want you to play hard. I want you to play fair, and I want to play to win. But you know the number one thing I want? It’s for you to play to have fun; these are lifetime memories.”
To learn more about the South Shore CVA and other events happening around the Region, visit southshorecva.com. To keep up with the latest news from the City of Crown Point, visit crownpoint.in.gov.
