Grosse Pointe Woods hosts Michigan Little League state tournament

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — Ghesquiere Park in Grosse Pointe Woods hosted the ages 9-11 2025 Michigan Little League state tournament from July 26 to July 31 in what was a thrilling week of baseball.

Not only did a Grosse Pointe area team host the tournament, but Grosse Pointe Farms-City Little League made the championship game and played an exciting 11-7 ballgame against state champion Greater Bay Little League.

“It was a great game. Going into it, we knew that Greater Bay was the defending 10-year-old state champion last year,” Grosse Pointe Farms-City coach Bill Crandall said. “We got down 2-0 early, got back to tie it 2-2, then we went down again 4-2 and came back. … We tied it 4-4. It shows that the team never gave up and they competed.”

The score was 11-4 heading into the final inning of play, and GPFC managed to fight back and make it a closer game late.

Despite the finals loss, the whole week was a success for the Grosse Pointe area. There was competitive baseball played throughout the tournament that did a fantastic job of showcasing the best that Michigan has to offer.

“The state of Michigan is divided into 16 districts,” Crandall said. “You had to win your district so they then were the representative of the Little League that makes up their district.”

After the group stage of the week, the top eight teams are put into a single elimination tournament and the last team standing is the winner. This year, that was Greater Bay Little League.

“We were able to get in (to the championship game) with our one and two pitchers available,” Greater Bay coach Craig Francis said. “Grosse Pointe (Farms-City) hit very well; we were just able to make some plays in the field.”

The atmosphere for Greater Bay was comparable to a road game than a neutral field tournament. Facing off against a Grosse Pointe area team in Grosse Pointe posed a challenge, but Greater Bay was prepared and rose to the occasion.

“Yeah, we talked about that, but last year when these guys were 10 (years old) and we were up in the U.P., we played the home team up there as well (in the championship game),” Francis said. “But they ran a great tournament down there. … They made it a real good experience for the kids.”

To add to the experience, the hosts also sent the entire tournament field to the Detroit Tigers game the Friday before tournament play started. It was a special experience from start to finish, and Grosse Pointe Woods is being recognized as a great Little League tournament host.

Now focus shifts to the 12U year. On top of being a coach for GPFC, Crandall is also a Little League district administrator, the vice chair for the state of Michigan, and is on the Little League International Advisory Board. So, Crandall knows the importance of this group’s next season to the kids. 12U is the big one.

“The 12-year-old year is the big year. That’s the year you advance past the state tournament to the regional tournament in Indiana,” Crandall said. “And then the goal of all 12-year-olds is to make it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport.”

This year’s Little League World Series regionals recently started and are such a big deal that the games are televised on ESPN.

Greater Bay Little League will try to get as many of the team’s players back again next year for 12U baseball so that the squad can make a run at Williamsport. To follow along and learn more, visit michiganlittleleague.org.