Kelso Klassic gets underway this weekend

After five months of preparation, this is the time of year Larry Eftink is finally able to relax and breathe a little bit.

Eftink, who's considered an aficianado when it comes to fastpitch softball, has been involved with the Kelso Klassic Softball Tournament since its inception in 1984.

He's been the director of the tournament for over 15 years, and as the 32nd edition is set to get underway Friday at Kelso City Park, an encouraging weekend forecast has Eftink hopeful for another big turnout.

"It's kind of a social event, too. There's a lot of people who show up who could probably care less about softball," said Eftink, who's also the manager of Kelso Fastpitch. "It's just a picnic-like kind of atmosphere that people line the park in their trucks and cars and play cornhole while the games are going on. Some people barbecue. It's just kind of a tailgate atmosphere the whole time."

That same atmosphere has contributed to the steady growth of the three-day, 14-team tournament, which started on the regional level but has expanded to draw teams from all around the country.

This year's field features four in-state squads, seven teams from Illinois and a representative each from Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma.

"There are actually less local teams, but we tend to get a really good crowd on Friday night," Eftink said. "The next closest team is about an hour and a half away in Pinckneyville, Illinois, but we probably have just as many people come now to the tournament as we we did back when we first started when half the field probably had about eight or nine local teams within a 25-mile radius. ... The interest is still here for fastpitch softball."

The long-running tournament sparked most of its national interest about five years ago when it became an automatic qualifier for the International Softball Congress World Tournament, which is scheduled to take place August 12-20 in Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois.

Although the level of competition has undoubtedly gotten better, Eftink believes there's still plenty of parity.

"The neat thing about our tournament is we're going to have four major teams this weekend, but we'll also have a couple on the other end of the spectrum, Class A type of teams," Eftink said. "Then we'll also have another six, seven or eight in between that -- mid-level teams. It's kind of neat that teams want to play but also want to come and see the bigger-time major types of teams and get a chance to play them and just be a fan themselves."

Those four major teams are the Topeka Toros (Topeka, Kansas), the Pueblo Bandits (Pueblo, Colorado), Pete's Blues (Mascoutah, Illinois) and the Bloomington Stix (Bloomington, Illinois).

The Stix are led by a familiar face in former Notre Dame standout Jonathan Lynch, who enjoyed a breakout performance in 2013 while playing for Kelso.

Lynch, an outfielder, wrapped up his first appearance at the Kelso Klassic batting .667 (8 for 12) with two triples, one double, four RBIs and three stolen bases in the three-day event, an outing that earned him Most Valuable Player honors. He batted .600 (9 for 10) with 10 RBIs in last year's tournament, during which he once again earned MVP honors in Bloomington's four-game sweep through the tournament.

"He's prototypical," Eftink said about Lynch. "That's the type of player you look for because he's fast, bats from the left side. He can bunt. He can hit with power. He's just a very good hitter and just causes havoc on the other team because he's all those things."

Lynch is currently a student manager on the coaching staff at the University of Missouri, was named to the second-team ISC world squad as an outfielder in 2013 and was a member of the 2012 USA Softball Junior Men's National Team. His departure from Kelso coupled with the retirement of several key players has left Eftink's squad in a period of transition.

"I'd call us a middle-of-the-pack type of team," Eftink said. "... We've kind of dropped a notch from a few years ago when we had Jonathan and some other guys. We're kind of regrouping. We've got a few older veterans, and now we're trying to get guys involved who haven't played a whole lot. We've kind of got a mixed bag on our team this year."

Kelso is led on the mound by pitcher Tom Jansen, but a resurgence of youth has Eftink optimistic moving forward.

A number of Notre Dame graduates are featured on this year's team, including outfielder/first baseman Josh Jansen.

"He actually has developed into our No. 3 hitter," Eftink said about Josh Jansen. "He had a couple home runs last week in a tournament, and he's turned into a really good fastpitch hitter. Last year was the first year he played, and he's really taken up the game, as far as hitting."

Other former Bulldogs include Grant Ressel, a starting point guard on last year's final four basketball team who didn't play baseball, and Justin and Derek Landewee, the former of which currently plays for William Woods University.

Eftink believes the sport presents an avenue for players to continue playing competitively following the conclusion of their high school baseball careers.

"As far as involving our local guys, that's what we've been trying to do for the last several years to keep this thing going because it is, in my mind, such a neat game," Eftink said. "Hopefully we're going to get a few younger guys out to watch and see the type of play and competition and the atmosphere. Maybe it'll generate more interest."

Eftink's son, Hunter, Christian Job and Ross Essner, all of whom were on Notre Dame's 2015 state championship baseball team, are also on the Kelso roster.

"It's a fast game because you're basically playing on a little-league field with men. It's just a reactionary game," Eftink said. "There are a lot of good athletes in this tournament. There'll be a few minor-leaguers and definitely a lot of high school and college type players around this weekend."

Fastpitch hurlers are rare in the United States, according to Eftink, as most of them are obtained through the international ranks. At least seven other countries -- New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Venezuela, Guatemala and the Czech Republic -- will be represented by players at this year's tournament.

Four games are scheduled for Friday night, with action beginning as early as 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. The championship games are scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

The tournament officially begins at 7 p.m. Friday with a commemoration of the 1991 Bud Light team, which won the Kelso Klassic 25 years ago.

"With everything it takes to put on a tournament, when it gets to here and all of that is behind me, I just love going out there and watching games and working on the field," Eftink said. "I'll still play a little bit. I'll take a couple at-bats this weekend, but I just enjoy watching the game and getting the field ready and just enjoying everything -- seeing the people there, the crowds and hearing the other teams' reactions about what they like about the tournament."