'A good place to play softball': Blue Water Fastpitch Invitational draws rave reviews

PORT HURON — By drawing upon the city's athletic past, Port Huron gave a glimpse of its softball future.

The inaugural Blue Water Fastpitch Invitational, a national men's softball tournament, concluded Sunday when the New York Gremlins held off Bear Creek Express, 2-1, in eight innings of the championship game at Pine Grove Park.

Six teams participated in the three-day event, which featured players from 10 different countries.

"The weekend has been great," said Brian Larsen, who helped organize the tournament. "The fans have been coming out, which is nice to see. The teams (have been) high quality, obviously — best teams in the world — and people are enjoying the competition. That's something we haven't seen around here in a long time."

It's what Larsen, along with tournament director Kurt Schieman and fellow organizer Terry Ruff, set out to change. All three have considerable experience with the local softball scene, which has a rich history in Port Huron. A modified tournament, known as The Blue Water Invitational, was held annually from 1996 to 2017.

Mike Maveety, of Fort Gratiot, has fond memories of the old invitational. So, he jumped at the chance to see a new, fastpitch version.

"I've been attending them for as long they've been coming here," Maveety said. "I think it's awesome. The ballplayers, the way they pitch the ball, the way they hit, the crowd that's here — just the full excitement of the whole thing."

He was joined Sunday by his grandson, Calvin Butterworth, of Port Huron.

"The pitchers throw really fast," Butterworth said. "I think it's really cool."

One of those pitchers was Gremlins ace Jack Besgrove, who is also a member of the Australian men's national team. In the title game against Bear Creek, the lefty threw 14 strikeouts while allowing just one run on three hits.

"This was my first time in Port Huron," said Besgrove, who earned a complete-game victory. "It was nice. You got some people out and they seemed to enjoy it. So, that's always nice … it's a good place to play softball."

And the softball was good — even when the weather was bad.

"I'm just really glad that the city stepped up and helped us out," Larsen said. "Yesterday could've been a disaster with the rain out. But the city sent an extra worker and really helped us out and we got through that."

Larsen also thanked Roger Vargo, who manages the fields at Port Huron Township's Memorial Park, which hosted a few games Saturday in place of a waterlogged Pine Grove Park.

Mother Nature was more cooperative Sunday, albeit with cloudy skies and a game-time temperature of 60 degrees. But those conditions didn't seem to bother anyone.

"It's the same process (no matter the weather)," Besgrove said of his approach. "You're going to warm up a little bit when it's cold and you don't have to warm up as much when it's hot. So, nothing really changes there."

"Everybody is doing a fantastic job," Maveety said of the tournament's adaptability. "(This event) is kind of a getaway from everything else. It's laid back and you get to enjoy yourself."

After finding initial success, there's hope that the Blue Water Fastpitch Invitational will find its way back.

"The plan right now is to do this again next year," Larsen said. "We want to do it every year."

Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper.