Kelso Klassic gives little ground to rain, completes play

KELSO, Mo. -- Mother Nature tried her best, but she couldn't dampen the enthusiasm surrounding this weekend's Kelso Klassic.

Pop-up thunderstorms both Saturday and Sunday sunk their teeth into the schedule of the three-day fastpitch softball tournament, which celebrated its 31st season at the Kelso softball complex. But tournament officials, 14 teams and scores of fans fought back with a vengeance, and the tournament was able to conclude Sunday nearly on schedule.

"It made for a very, very long weekend," said Jerry Wolsey, a player-coach for tournament host Kelso Fastpitch who, along with a host of other tournament officials, put in several hours behind the scenes raking and grooming both fields for non-stop action throughout the weekend. "There's some of us out here that haven't had six hours sleep in more than two days. You just do what you have to do to get the tournament in. Some of these teams come from a long way and spend a lot of money to get here, so we want to make sure that we get the tournament in."

Saturday's storms wreaked havoc with the tournament slate after a perfect Friday evening that saw Kelso Fastpitch come from behind to defeat Sibley (Ill.) in a 5-4, tournament-opening thriller.

Tournament director Larry Eftink said the infield tarp was hauled out three times on Saturday alone.

"That's the biggest thing with these pop-up thundershowers," Eftink said. "How early, and when do you take the [tarp] off, and when do you resume play?"

The resulting delays meant games were played well into the wee hours Sunday morning. The decision was made to play through the loser's bracket, shortening the games to five innings in an effort to get back on schedule. Saturday's abbreviated games finished just shy of 6 a.m. Sunday.

"They're appreciative of the effort we make," Eftink said about the players who traveled long distances to compete in the tournament. "They like the effort we make to protect the field and get the games played and not just call it off and say we're rained out.

"And that's part of what makes the Kelso tournament special for the teams that keep coming back every year. They know they're going to come down here and, whether it rains or not, they're going to get a chance to play ball. That's what we try to live up to."

Players and tournament officials weren't the only people dodging raindrops throughout the night. Matt Reed was among several fans who braved the rain delays and stayed awake to watch each of Saturday night's games from start to finish.

"It's the Klassic, man," explained Reed, who got to the ball park around 9 p.m. Saturday after watching the Cardinals defeat the Royals 3-2 in St. Louis earlier in the day. "That's it. That's all you got."

Reed and his friends were parked behind the left-field fence of the main field, where several other fans known as the "Left Field Locals" eat, drink, watch softball and party well into the night.

"[The vendors] weren't doing any food at 2 a.m.," said Reed as he dropped a basket of breaded venison into a hastily-assembled deep fryer. "So we cooked some stuff up. It's the Klassic. If you're here, you've got to be here."

Fans like Reed and the "Left Field Locals" are the bread-and-butter for the Klassic, which annually draws elite fastpitch teams from throughout the Plains states and beyond.

"That's what the Klassic's all about," Wolsey said. "They know that we put the effort in to make it a good, quality, professional tournament. And that's why we have such a good [turnout] every year."

The local squad had its sights set on a championship game appearance until a 2-1 loss to the Topeka (Kan.) Toros early Sunday morning relegated them to fifth place.

"We left five runners on base in the first two innings against them," Wolsey said. "You just can't do that against a team like Topeka. It ended up costing us."

The Toros are presently ranked 18th in the world rankings.

"We're just a bunch of guys that travel around, and we're amateurs playing against some guys that do it for a living," Wolsey said. "Not that we're happy with [the loss], but we're satisfied that we were competitive with them."

The diligence of the host team paid off as the championship game became an official contest before rain arrived after six innings Sunday evening. The Bloomington Stix led the Toros 3-2 when play was halted.

The Stix received an automatic bid to the International Softball Congress World Championships on August 8 to 15 in South Bend, Indiana, for winning the tournament.

Jonathan Lynch, a Notre Dame Regional High School graduate, was selected the tournament MVP after helping the Stix go 4-0 and successfully defend their title. Lynch batted .600 (9 for 16) with 10 RBIs. His hits included four doubles, a triple and two home runs.

The Stix's Pablo Masmu was chosen the tournament's top pitcher after allowing one hit and striking out 11 over 7 2/3 innings. Masmu recorded the win in the winner's bracket final and then recorded the save in the championship game.

The Toros defeated the Central Illinois Knights 5-1 in the loser's bracket final, setting up the championship showdown with the Stix. The Knights finished 3-2 and placed third.

Weezer's Fastpitch of Kansas City, Kansas, placed fourth, while Kelso Fastpitch took fifth. Both teams finished 3-2.

"For us, to finish fifth is quite an accomplishment considering how tired we are," Wolsey said.