Baseball: Spirit of the game

Independence Day brings a flair of nostalgia to the ballpark.

And apparently for a lot of folks. The Great Falls Voyagers beat the Missoula Osprey, 4-2, in front of a sellout crowd of 3,082 at Centene Stadium Saturday evening.

But for some of the folks at the Great Falls Rescue Mission’s Christian Discipleship Program, the 4th of July is particularly special.

“It’s kind of a tradition for us to take our people out every 4th of July,” said Laurie Tyner, whose husband, Paul, runs the discipleship program.

The program helps people recover from addiction through an introduction to — and adherence to — faith … and maybe a little bit of baseball.

“We want to show them that they can have a good time without all the other stuff: drinking, smoking dope, all that stuff,” Paul Tyner said.

“You can have family fun, and it can be positive: just a really good time,” Laurie added.

Paul and Laurie bring groups to the ballpark several times a year with tickets donated by the Voyagers and sponsor General Distributing, Voyagers general manager Scott Reasoner said. It’s one of two ticket-donation programs Great Falls has, along with General Mills’ box-seat tickets they give to different nonprofit groups. They donate roughly 2,000 tickets each season.

“You don’t see them,” Reasoner said. “They just kind of blend into the crowd. But every single night we have anywhere from 10 to 30 people that got seats donated to them.”

For someone like discipleship program member Chris Cote, the games are a flashback to childhood. Cote said he hadn’t been to a game since he was a kid.

“I used to come here with my stepdad when I was 8 or 9 when it was the Dodgers,” Cote said. “I’ve never been here when they were the Voyagers.”

Cote battled drug addiction for years and joined the program after getting out of jail in September. He said he’s been sober for nine months, and he was more than thrilled to be in the stands Saturday.

“This is the first time that I’ve ever been able to enjoy it sober,” Cote said.

The discipleship program has been the key to a turnaround for Cote.

“They saved my life,” Cote said. “… It kind of breaks me up. I have a lot of medical conditions, and Paul and Laurie are wonderful.”

According to Laurie, something that sets the program apart is their ability to get participants to things like Voyagers games.

“Even if we can’t come out with them, we make arrangements for someone to grab a van and bring them out,” Laurie said.

It’s good clean fun, said Paul breaking into a smile, “and it’s the best fireworks show in the city.”

That fireworks show — and Independence Day as a whole — is something the Voyagers take pride in putting on.

“It’s become a great family tradition,” Reasoner said. “It’s a perfect night in July after seeing the parade, maybe going to a barbeque with the family and then you come on out to the ballpark. It’s truly the greatest night of the year out here.”

And as the sellout may indicate, it’s their best night of business during the season as well.

“There’s unbelievable support from the community on this night, and it’s a tradition we look forward to continuing for a really long time,” said Reasoner.

As for the game itself, the Voyagers provided some early fireworks in the bottom of the first. Cleanup hitter Antonio Rodriguez laced a homer over the right-field wall with two men on to give the Voyagers an early lead.

Missoula got one back in the second, but Voyager pitching was largely brilliant. Starter Zach Erwin went three innings with one run earned, and Brandon Magallones tossed four shutout innings in relief before Lucas Shearrow closed it out.

Great Falls added insurance in the fifth when Jake Jarvis singled home Johan Cruz.

The Osprey touched Shearrow up for one in the eighth, when Isan Diaz scored on a wild pitch.