GREAT FALLS – The Great Falls Voyagers baseball team reported into town for the first practice of the year at Centene Stadium on Thursday.
Great Falls has only two returning players from last year’s playoff team in pitcher Chris Comito and infielder Amado Nunez. Infielder Corey Zangari, who missed all of last season with an injury, is back on the team this year, as well, after playing for the Voyagers in 2016. The roster may look young, but this squad is ready to start building this season.
“New draft guys are coming in, they don’t know what pro ball is like. In a professional standpoint we’ll get something going, because it’s their first time doing it,” said Comito. “Or guys that are coming back, most of us have been hanging out in Arizona, we don’t have a crowd or music or anything going, it’s just fun to be in front of everybody.”
“There’s a bounce in their step. They’re excited. For a lot of them, it’s their first time in pro ball. We’ve been out in Arizona with 110-degree heat, so this has been a good change for them, and there’s nothing like opening day,” said manager Tim Esmay. “You don’t get that in spring training, you don’t get that in extended, so these guys are excited. They’re ready to go, they know we’re challenging them. We don’t want to be one game short this year, we want to get it done. But the process is the process, it takes a while. It takes us a while to get them all figured out.”
Great Falls will welcome in the Helena Brewers for opening day on Friday at 7 p.m.
