Shakopee Indians Town Baseball Team Heading Back to State Tournament
By Bill Schleper
After another successful regular season highlighted by the FOX 9 Townball Tour at Joe Schleper Baseball Stadium, the Shakopee Indians town baseball team is looking to cap things off with a strong showing at the Class A Minnesota Amateur Baseball State Tournament over the next three weekends in Glencoe, Brownton, Gaylord and Hutchinson (a four-site tourney), with the championship game slated for Labor Day weekend.
The Indians earned their bid to the state tourney with a convincing best-of-five series win against the Eagan Bandits, sweeping the series 3-0. The tone was set in the first game when Vinny Schleper tossed a no-hitter that was one out shy of a perfect game after a dropped fly ball on what would have been the final out. Schleper didn’t let it faze him, retiring the next batter to complete the no-hit shutout, 2-0.
The Indians got another dominating pitching performance in Game 2, as Jake Skogrand pitched a complete-game shutout (6-0), giving up eight hits but stranding all of them in a standout performance. Game 3 featured the return of lefty Jaden Case, who recently underwent Tommy John surgery but has been slowly returning to form and extending his innings throughout the season. Case went six strong innings to pick up the 10-5 victory. The squad never looked back during the series, turning in a dominating performance that drew attention statewide against the always strong and highly ranked Bandits from Eagan.
State tourney games will take place over three weekends:
Aug. 15-17
Aug. 22-24
Aug. 29-Sept. 1
It’s a single-elimination format, so as soon as a team loses, its season will be over—meaning every out will be a big one.
The Indians open their quest for a state championship Sunday, Aug. 17, at 1:30 p.m. in Glencoe at Vollmer Field, located at 3 Desoto Ave. S. in Glencoe.
All-day admission is $10 for adults and $1 for youth 18 and under. Tickets are good for all three games at Vollmer Field that day (11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.) or for park-hopping among the four tournament sites (Glencoe, Brownton, Gaylord and Hutchinson) to see other games in the Class A, B or C tournaments.
Below is the Class A bracket so you can follow along and, hopefully, find time to take in a game or two. Should the Indians win their first game, they would play again the following Sunday, Aug. 24, at 1:30 p.m. in Gaylord.
The Indians won the Class B state tournament in 2009 and 2010 (back-to-back) and have made several return trips since then. The Minnesota Baseball Association (MBA) State Board has restructured their tournament format this season into 3 separate tournaments - so the Indians have moved up from Class B to Class A in a 3-tiered tournament setting - with A, B, and C tournaments now clearly defined using a point system. With so many talented teams in the tournament this year, it should be well worth the time to take in a few games. Some of these players have played in, or are heading to, Major League Baseball, and players’ ages range from their upper teens to their 60s. The competition and talent level is high, ticket prices are low, and the popularity of town team baseball has steadily increased over the past decade. It’s a tournament like no other, with fans coming from all over the state to enjoy the boys—men—of summer.
Next year, the 2026 Minnesota Amateur Baseball State Tournament will be hosted by Shakopee, New Prague, Jordan and Chaska, so volunteers will be needed. More information will be available as the event approaches.
2025 State Tournament Bracket:
