M-ettes honored at Minor League game in Great Falls

It's the moment during a baseball game that has put many celebrities under a microscope only to be ridiculed; the first pitch.

During last Friday's Great Falls Voyagers game, former M-ette post player Darby Schye had to do the honors. It didn't go as she had hoped.

"It was not really great, because I'm really bad at baseball," Schye told the PCN. "It was an ugly, ugly pitch. But I guess it made people laugh, so that was good."

How bad was it? Apparently, nowhere near the strike zone. But there have been worse throws.

"It bounced to the catcher," Schye said. "It was definitely funny."

Schye and the 2015 State B Champion Malta M-ettes were honored during the Voyagers' game against the Orem Owls, a game which the Voyagers ultimately lost 5-3. The game was a part of The Great Falls Tribune's "Championship First Pitch," which is a partnership promotion between the Tribune and the Voyagers.

During breaks throughout the game, the M-ettes participated in events such like hula hoop races.

Before she threw the pitch, Schye had no idea that it would be her to do the honors. When she arrived at the game, Coach Hammond pushed her towards the gate to enter the field.

"I think maybe it was because I'm the oldest, but I don't know," Schye said. "I'm imagining that part of it was because everybody else was too chicken, which was also accurate."

Schye did have an encourager on the field, an unnamed lady around her age, helping to calm her nerves before the throw.

"She sat there and talked to me the whole time," Schye said. "She said 'nobody was going to be watching or anything,' which made me a little more comfortable, because I was really uncomfortable."

But people did indeed watch as Schye found out through the laughter after the throw.

"It was a poor pitch and everybody laughed," Schye said.

Though Schye has played in Malta's Bambino League at a much younger age, she had never been on top of a pitching mound prior to Friday.

"That's how bad I was in baseball, I never got to pitch," Schye said.

Don't let the pitch fool you, Schye has a decent arm, as shown by passes on the basketball court and the fact the she was a state placer and the Northern B Divisional Champ in shot put last spring.

"I guess my initial thought was 'maybe I need to throw a little low because the catcher was really low to the ground,'" Schye said. "I can throw a baseball far, but just not in front of a crowd of people I guess."

In a situation where Schye would play on a baseball team, Schye admitted that she would want to be pitcher and she knows with a little practice, she would be decent.

She knows that she would have done better if there were a few warm up pitches.

"That would've been nice," Schye said.

The admission of the game was free for the M-ette players and coaches. And thanks to the hospitality the team enjoyed themselves.

"We were all really comfortable and we all had a really great time," Schye said. "It was a really good thing to get to do."

The team made the trip a day long affair, visiting Flippin' Family Fun, a large indoor trampoline and fitness facility.