Chad Sperski, Ryan Volek honored at Freeport International Baseball Invitational old-timers game – TribLIVE

It was a great night in Freeport for residents and volunteers Chad Sperski and Ryan Volek.

The two received the annual Mike Westerman Memorial Unsung Hero Award prior to the old-timers game Thursday night.

Both singled and scored in the first inning to stake Old School to a 3-0 lead.

Then, Volek made a circus catch in center field to hold off a Team Ben-Gay rally two innings later.

The game — one of the highlights of the annual Freeport International Baseball Invitational — ended with Old School and Ben-Gay battling to a 6-6 stalemate after seven innings.

The Westerman award is given each year for those who go “above and beyond,” often working in the background, to keep the invitational humming for the past 28 years.

Invitational President Chuck Sarver said Sperski and Volek perform a variety of tasks.

“It’s primarily field maintenance, putting up the protective netting, announcing, whatever is needed,” Sarver said.

“We do whatever Chuck (Sarver) asks us to do,” Sperski said. “We want to keep this thing going. I got involved when Jim McCurdy told me some of the volunteers were getting older and some younger people were needed to take over.”

Sperski was unaware that he would get the award, named after the late son of event founder Ralph “Sonny” Westerman.

“I think everybody knew but me,” Sperski said with a laugh.

Volek added that an email was sent to various board members about who would be receiving the award — and he never got an email.

“It was discussed at one of our board meetings,” Volek said. “It never crossed my mind. There’s been so many great people here, never in my life did I think I’d be honored.”

Volek would plan his vacation from his job coinciding with the International week, but was unable to do so when he started a new job last year.

“We want to keep this event going for what it brings to this community,” Volek said, adding that there’s never enough volunteer help. “The more the merrier. Even if someone can give one night out of the week, that’s tremendous.”

Ben-Gay’s Scott Lumley’s two-run double tied the game at 4-all.

Old School tied the game at 6-6 in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded with one out and the winning run at third, pitcher Bill Murray intentionally walked Nate Good and induced Kevin Harbison to hit into a double play to end the night for the old-timers.

The event got its start when Sonny Westerman sat watching a District 26 Little League Tournament of Champions game at Swartz Stadium in 1994 when he floated the idea of having baseball teams from everywhere to come in and just play baseball — no brackets, no trophies, just play baseball “for the love of the game,” the slogan that the event still uses.

Sonny Westerman died in 2017 at age 88.