Freeport International tournament link brings French girl back to area to hone baseball skills

Last July, during the busy week of the Freeport International Baseball Invitational, a youth team from France, the Hawks of La Guerche de Bretagne, played several competitive games with a number of local clubs from the Alle-Kiski Valley.

Greg Penfornis, the manager of the team, noticed the talent level of the American players and thought about having his daughter, Shaily, return to the Freeport area for some baseball training and clinical work.

Discussions with Freeport International officials, including president Chuck Sarver and vice president Dave Brestensky, turned potential into reality.

It also turned into an overall return trip to remember for the Penfornis family.

“Last year, we didn’t have a lot of time to visit,” Greg said.

“It was just a lot of baseball playing throughout the week. This time, we’ve been able to visit different places in the area around Freeport.

“Throughout the week, Shaily learned so much baseball. It was great.”

Shaily, who turns 13 on Dec. 24, had the opportunity for some one-on-one work with Freeport varsity baseball coach Ed Carr and practice time with the Freeport Colt team and a couple of other local teams in pitching and hitting.

“We had talked about her coming back over and getting more training with American coaches and clinics,” Sarver said.

“He kept in touch with Dave, and it worked out pretty well.

“This is something that has never happened before, where a player wanted to come back over to get some additional training. Shaily is serious about getting better in baseball. You can see her dedication. They were very happy with how everything went.”

The Penfornis family used the relaxing trip to also go to the Pittsburgh Zoo, take in a museum or two and attend the May 3 Pirates game against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park.

The Pirates didn’t bring home a win that night as they were bested by the Rockies, 3-2.

“This was what we wanted to do,” Greg said.

“We had a great time visiting friends in Freeport and around the area that we met last summer.”

“I had a really good time coming here this week and playing baseball here,” said Shaily, who will enter her third session of English classes in the next school term.

“She is studying Spanish, too,” Greg said.

The family headed back to France on May 10 but not before additional days in the U.S., including a few days in New York City.

Greg said he and Shaily at one point entertained the possibility of coming back to Freeport in July for the Freeport International and joining up with a team for a week of games.

However, Penfornis’ job as a police officer will keep him busy throughout the summer with safety responsibilities before, during and after the Summer Olympics in Paris.

The team from France at last year’s Freeport International was a mix of players in 12-and-under and 15-and-under age groups. Those players rejoined their regular teams for playoffs and experienced positive results.

“The younger team placed seventh out of all the teams in France, and the big team was third in the North (region),” Penfornis said.

Last year, Shaily was in the 12-and-under age group and has risen to 15 and under.

“For Shaily and the other younger players on the team, to come here and play, it was an amazing experience,” Penfornis said.

“They learned so much playing (in Freeport) with those older players. Now, they see the game so much differently. They know what it is like to play with and against those older players. It was so good for them. ”

Two teams from the Hawks organization traveled the weekend of May 25 to a six-team international tournament at a U.S. Air Force base in Germany near the capital, Frankfurt.

The weekend before, the Hawks hosted the biggest youth baseball tournament in France. Some of the top teams in the country participated.

“We are working with (Brestensky) to hopefully have a team from Freeport come and play in this tournament next year,” Penfornis said.

“We are hoping that can happen. We might move the date of the tournament for the (Freeport) players and when they are done with school. We want to get it set for the team to raise money to be able to travel to the tournament.”

FIBI fast approaching

The Freeport International’s 30th annual week of games is July 22-27 in and around Freeport Borough.

Sarver said more than two dozen teams are expected to take part, including two teams from Australia.

FIBI officials still are looking for people who can house one or more of the Australian players for the week.

Sarver said the spirit of the invitational flows beyond the Freeport Borough borders to the other communities throughout the A-K Valley region.

When the field at Highlands High School, which has hosted FIBI games the past couple of years, became unavailable for this summer’s event while a new field turf surface is installed, Springdale, fronted by athletic director Amanda Noel, stepped up and offered the Dynamos baseball field for games.

Springdale hosted a number of games in 2022.

“We’ve always had help when we’ve needed it, whether it be field usage, housing for international players, donations or volunteering,” Sarver said.

“People always step up to make it a memorable event.”

Sarver said there still is the possibility of a team from southern Ontario, Canada, making the trip to the Freeport International.

For more information on this year’s Freeport International, visit freeportinternationals.com/, twitter.com/FreeportIntl, facebook.com/FreeportInternationalBaseballInvitationalFibi or email fibisocialmedia@gmail.com or ChuckS@Weleski.com.