Post 254 powers way to program’s fifth appearance in the American Legion World Series, 1st since 2016.
Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 head coach Jim Haaff may be the country’s longest-tenured American Legion Baseball coach at 63 years.
On Sunday, Haaff earned his fifth trip to the American Legion World Series after one of the best hitting days in regional history.
Peyton Gray, a rising senior at Heritage Hills High School who has already committed to Western Kentucky, went 8-for-9 with 8 RBIs across two games as Rockport beat previously unbeaten Cedar Rapids Swisher (Iowa) Post 671 to claim the Great Lakes Regional championship.
“We’ve been fortunate enough to have some nice hitters over the years,” said Haaff, who has more than 1,400 victories in his head coaching career. “I once had the top two hitters in the lineup get 13 hits in a doubleheader. That was quite a feat.
“But Peyton had quite a day.”
Gray said he didn’t have any premonition or special feelings entering the Aug. 10 games. All he said he had was resolve to lift Rockport (22-6) to its fifth ALWS appearance.
“When I woke up, I felt like how the whole team felt,” Gray said. “We had this ‘refuse to lose’ mentality. And that’s exactly what we did.”
Haaff said the team’s determination was obvious.
“The kids just woke up on the right foot and they were on a mission,” Haaff said. “And they completed it.
“We have been pretty good all year long in the late innings and we showed that in the regionals. We may get behind but we can come back.”
Rockport’s back-to-back victories advanced Post 254 to the ALWS for the first time since 2016 and joins the 1974, 1984 and 2007 teams to advance this far. Rockport’s best previous appearance was third in the 2016 ALWS in Shelby.
Gray was happy to please a fan base that was a vocal presence at Lee Pfund Stadium at Legion Field in Carol Stream (Ill.).
“It was amazing,” Gray said. “We had a lot of fans there and it was a great last day. I think we’re going to use that momentum to carry us on into the World Series.”
ALWS Schedule
Aug. 15: Game 1, vs. Lincoln (Neb.) Post 500, 10 a.m. ET
Aug. 16: Game 6, vs. Portland (Ore.) Post 158, 1 p.m. ET
Aug. 17: Game 10, vs. League City (Tex.) Post 554, 1 p.m. ET
Roster*
No. Name Pos. Ht./Wt. B/T Graduates / School
16 Ball, Ethan P / LF 5’7”/175 L/L 2025 / Perry Central
14 Brown, Ty CF / SS 6’0”/175 R/R 2025 / South Spencer HS
15 Burger, Jared SS / 2B 6’0”/165 R/R 2026 / Forest Park
9 Deom, Seth 2B / P 5’10”/190 R/R 2024 / Heritage Hills
11 Fortwendel, Max C / RF 5’7”/152 R/R 2026 / Tell City
1 Gray, Peyton SS / P 6’2”/193 R/R 2026 / Heritage Hills
19 Jennings, Talon P / 1B 6’2”/150 L/L 2025 / Tell City
2 Lewko, Declan P / 1B 6’2”/160 L/L 2025 / Hancock County
17 Pruitt, Braden P / LF 6’0”/180 R/R 2025 / Heritage Hills
33 Pund, Bronson P / LF 6’4”/210 R/R 2025 / Heritage Hills
13 Smith, Andersen 3B / 1B 6’1”/195 R/R 2025 / Heritage Hills
10 Toler, Micah CF / 3B 6’2”/175 R/R 2025 / Heritage Hills
7 Winchell, Tyce 3B / RF 5’10”/175 R/R 2027 / Heritage
Manager: Jim Haaff
Assistants: Michael Bowling, Bill Hesson, Darrell Stephens, Jesse Smith, Abe Bartlett
*Players will receive camo jerseys for Military Appreciation Day during team orientation which may be different numbers than listed here.
Regional results
Aug. 6: Midland (Mich.) Post 165 d. Rockport (Ind.) Post 254, 2-0.
Aug. 7: Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 d. Danville (Ill.) Post 210, 12-6 (9 innings).
Aug. 8: Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 d. Beverly/Lowell (Ohio) Posts 389/750, 12-8.
Aug. 9: Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 d. Midland (Mich.) Post 165, 9-3.
Aug. 10: Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 d. Cedar Rapids Swisher (Iowa) Post 671, 11-4.
Aug. 10: Rockport (Ind.) Post 254 d. Cedar Rapids Swisher (Iowa) Post 671, 13-6.
- Baseball