The Austin Post 91 Legion baseball team has already made program history with its first District title in 25 years, and now the team is hoping to do a little more as it prepares for the state Legion baseball tournament.

Austin will open the 16-team, double elimination Division I state tournament by playing North Saint Paul at Braemer Fields in Edina 10 a.m. Friday.

Austin is going into the tournament without a lot of knowledge of its opponents, but co-head coach Joe Kroc is hoping is team will play the way it has all season.

“You don’t know much about any of the teams, so it’s tough to say exactly where we’re at,” Kroc said. “We want to go out and compete and play with class and integrity. The kids deserve to have some fun too, because it’s a big accomplishment.”

Austin has been consistent throughout the season, thanks to a strong pitching staff and solid defense. The team picked up big nine-inning wins from Nik Gasner and Jake Reinartz to win the First District title and Post 91 also has put plenty of runs on the board this season.

Jordan Hart said Austin simply needs to keep playing Post 91 baseball at the state tournament.

“We just need to keep playing the way we’re playing right now. We’re swinging good, our defense is good and our pitching is good,” he said. “This is a great group of guys and they’re fun to be around. We learn a lot from each other and we strive off of each others’ excitement and intensity.”

Gasner said that Austin’s depth has helped it stay consistent throughout the season.

“We’ve got enough guys where if one guys doesn’t make a play there’s somebody else who will make that play and pick that guy up,” Gasner said. “We don’t just have a couple of guys that stand out, we’ve got a bunch of real good players on our team that can make a play at any moment.”

No matter how Post 91 finishes at state, baseball seems to be on the rise in Austin. The Austin Post 1216 VFW baseball team made it to the state tournament last season and the Legion team has established itself as a contender this season.

“In order to win you have to have players and there’s obviously a lot of talent on this squad,” Kroc said. “We’ve proven that we can compete, not only in the District, but on the state level too.”

If Austin wins its first game at state, it will play 7 p.m. Friday. If it loses its first game at state, it will play 4 p.m. Friday.