JEFFERSON TWP - Once he saw it, he wanted to become part of it.

Two years later, former Sarver and Butler Township resident Chris Rupert has his wish.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pound left-handed pitcher, now 17 and living in Palm Harbor, Fla., was scheduled to pitch for Japan's entrant in the Freeport International Baseball Invitational Tuesday.

He will pitch for the Brooklyn (N.Y.) team the remainder of the week before returning home Friday night.

Rupert's family moved to the Clearwater, Fla., area in 1996 after he had played one season in the Freeport Little League.

"We could have moved anywhere," said his mother, Carol Rupert, a registered nurse. "We chose Florida over South Carolina because of Chris' interest in baseball.

"He was throwing stones when he was 2. He always had a ball in his hands."

His father, Barry Rupert, is an engineer.

Rupert will be a senior this fall at East Lake High School in Florida and plays baseball year round. He's pitching for the East Lake American Legion team this summer and will pitch for Pro Kids, an elite traveling baseball team, this fall.

He has to fly home Friday night to pitch in a critical game for his Legion team Saturday.

But pitching in the Freeport International event is worth the trip to him.

"Once I saw some games two years ago, I wanted to play in this (event)," Rupert said. "My Florida team couldn't come up and my family couldn't work it out vacation-wise last year.

"We got on the website this year. I expressed interest in playing and it worked out."

Rupert is pitching for the Japanese and Brooklyn squads because those two teams are short on pitchers.

And Rupert is long on talent.

"I definitely want to pitch in college and go as far as I can go," he said. "There will be scouts here, so I want to do well."

Rupert was 4-0 with a 1.58 earned run average for East Lake High School this spring. He struck out 33 in 31 innings.

His fastball is in the 85-mph range and his curveball and changeup are above average, according to Tony Ferreira, his fall baseball coach.

The Florida high school season begins in February. Former major league pitchers David Cone and Ferreira have been working with Rupert.

"Just about every high school and travel team coach in Florida played in either the major or minor leagues," Rupert's father said. "The caliber of competition down there is incredible."

"Since you play all year, the (high school) coach won't let you play another sport," Rupert said. "And I don't want to."

Rupert has been scouted by Division I schools Central Florida and South Florida. Seton Hill and Indiana (Pa.) are among the Western Pennsylvania schools interested in his services.

The Ruperts have numerous relatives in Butler County. Their daughter, Malorie, will be a senior at the University of Pittsburgh this fall.

"It would be convenient to us if Chris went to school up here," Carol Rupert said.

"Anywhere he can get a scholarship," Barry Rupert said. "That's what he's looking for."

As for his latest baseball thrill, Rupert's already found it.

"I can't wait to get on the field with these guys," he said of his new Japanese teammates.

"Him playing with the Japanese - this is worth a million dollars to us," Barry Rupert said. "Like the commercial says, it's priceless."