Old Timers Game continues to be special tradition at Freeport International Baseball Invitational

Nate Good has come full circle with the Freeport International Baseball Invitational.

He started out as a player in the event; now he’s playing in the Sonny Westerman Old Timers Game.

Good was the winning pitcher and drove in a key run in the second inning Thursday night as Old School defeated Team Chas, 4-2, at Swartz Memorial Stadium.

“I played in the very first International, and Sonny Westerman was my coach,” Good said. “I’m from Freeport, and I can walk down to the field here. This is a fun event to be a part of.”

The late Westerman was the founder of the event 27 years ago.

The game also was an idea of Westerman’s as an annual part of the festivities. Past participants have taken it seriously, losing as much as 20 pounds of middle-aged paunch in time for the game.

While most of the players are local, past games have seen some from outside the Alle-Kiski Valley suit up.

A local athlete who has been part of multiple old timers events is Highlands graduate Bob Haggerty, starting pitcher for Team Chas. Haggerty pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the first inning.

Leadoff batter Chris Speer fooled everyone in the bottom of the first inning by blasting a double over the drawn-in infield and shallow outfield as the Wexford car salesman found a Good pitch to his liking.

Team Chas, named after tournament volunteer Chas Griffith, was short on bodies and had to adopt some local high school players to round out the roster.

Old School pitcher Rob Toy showed the youngsters how it’s done, coming up one pitch short of striking out the side. He fanned Garrett Risch and Dean Furer, then hit Jack Smetak with a pitch. Toy had Mason Ross 0-2, but Ross fouled off five pitches then drew a walk to prolong the inning.

Sarver honored

In a pre-planned surprise, FIBI president Chuck Sarver was presented with the annual Mike Westerman Unsung Hero Award for his work over the years in helping to organize the event. Sarver works tirelessly throughout the year to make the event a local summer staple.

“No one deserves this more than Chuck for what he’s done in Sonny’s memory and to help run this smoothly,” said board member and presenter Dave Brestensky.

“I’m not able to do this without the loving patience of my family,” Sarver said. “I’m hardly home during this week and I couldn’t do what I do without them.”

The late Mike Westerman, son of the founder, was a standout shortstop for Freeport Area High School in the early 1970s and was a 10th round pick by the Reds in the 1972 Major League Baseball draft.