Tradition, competition keep teams coming to Freeport International Baseball Tournament

Michael Perry knew all about the Freeport International Baseball Tournament when he worked in sports at the Butler Eagle newspaper through 2001.

“I knew of the tradition, and that it always was a pretty cool tournament,” said Perry, who will bring his Lake Erie Warhawks 16U team from Cleveland to play from Tuesday through Saturday at fields throughout the Alle-Kiski Valley.

“With my travel team, we were looking for some games to close out the summer, and I said, ‘Hey, let’s give this a shot.’ We are really excited to play some great teams.”

Perry said there were plans in the works to bring his team to the Freeport International, but with covid messing up a lot of summer plans, the trip didn’t materialize.

Familiar teams are back at the Freeport International and will do battle with the newcomers such as the Warhawks. The mix of new and old is something that energizes FIBI president Chuck Sarver.

The managers from the 19 teams met Monday night to go over all aspects of the week and its schedule. After a number of adjustments to the schedule, the week is ready to begin.

Five fields — the home hub of James Swartz Memorial Field in Freeport Borough, Freeport Community Park and Highlands and Armstrong high schools and Northmoreland Park Field 7 — are set to host games among teams from several age divisions.

Games begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday and run through Saturday.

Randy Durkoskie, the manager of the Mercyhurst Colt and Legion teams from Erie, has brought teams to the Freeport International for nearly two decades. Knowing the competition will be strong and the opportunity to play teams from all over, he said, drives the organization to return each year.

“When the international teams come in, that’s great, but just getting the chance to play a lot of games is pretty cool,” said Durkoskie, whose team will play games Tuesday against Kiski Area and the Highlands Summer Rams at Highlands at 5 and 8 p.m., respectively.

The two Mercyhurst teams will play 13 total games from Tuesday through Saturday.

Plum Bulldogs coach Dan Macioce coached a Plum Colt team in the first Freeport International in the early 1990s. He continued to bring teams for several years.

The Bulldogs, who finished runner-up in the high school division at the prestigious Cap Classic Pittsburgh tournament in late June, are set to play six games this week, adding to a busy summer schedule.

“These kids have had fun playing together all summer, and they are looking forward to playing a few more at this great tournament,” Macioce said. “There are a couple of dads who I coached in this tournament, and now they get to come here and watch their sons play. They are super excited to come back and relive some great memories.”

Aaron Albert, the Cavaliers baseball coach in the spring, will coach the Kiski team this week. It is his fourth year as a coach here, and he played in the tournament before graduating from Knoch in 2002.

During that time, his father, Sam, was the football coach at Freeport, so the FIBI connections for Albert run deep.

“Luke Westerman was the (Freeport) quarterback, and everyone knows what his grandfather, Sonny, did putting this event together,” Albert said.

“Sonny was such a great guy, and there are great people each year who carry on the tradition he started. It was tough with covid, but credit all the people who work so hard to give these kids a great opportunity to play a game they love. It’s a fun event, and I know my kids look forward to it every year.”

The Freeport International also is hosting a series of Futures games in the 12U and 10U divisions featuring teams from Freeport, Burrell, Natrona Heights, Armstrong and Squirrel Hill.

Other activities this week are the annual Old-Timers Game at 8 p.m. Thursday, the John “Cossy” Constantino 10K/5K race in Freeport on Saturday morning, and an all-star game and fireworks Saturday evening at Swartz Field.

For more information on the Freeport International, visit their Twitter page, Facebook page or website.