Running the Bases

Running the Bases is a 2022 Christian sports drama filmed largely in Harrison (Boone County). Despite lacking any studio financing or distribution, the movie opened in nearly 1,300 theaters on September 16, 2022, earning $1,511,980 during the course of its theatrical run. The movie drew comparisons to the God’s Not Dead franchise with its depiction of conflict between Christian faith and secular society.

The movie opens with Luke Brooks (Brett Varvel) standing on a baseball field at night, reflecting upon “the path that led me to this moment,” before the movie then flashes back to twenty years ago, with a younger Luke (played by Raphael Ruggero) and brother Josh (Brendan Carl Reimer) hoping to attend Evangel University and join its baseball program. However, during a tryout, Josh collapses on the field, dying of a heart condition. Luke is subsequently diagnosed with the same condition, forcing him to give up playing baseball. However, he receives a full scholarship to Evangel, where he befriends Coach Gilbert (Eric Hanson), who encourages him to take up coaching himself. He soon marries his high school sweetheart Jessica (Dakota Bruton).

Twenty years later, Luke is serving as the coach of the Harrison Hawks baseball team when Michael Jamison (Todd Terry), superintendent of the Parkwood School District in Texas, tries to recruit him as their coach. Luke talks it over with his wife (Gigi Orsillo playing the older Jessica) and Josh Jr. (Bridger Trent), saying that God is calling him that way. The team at Parkwood, the Lions, is underfunded because all money goes to football, but Jamison wants him to win a state championship nonetheless.

Before each game, Luke and his son have a brief prayer and run in the bases “in honor of God” and Luke’s late brother. Josh Jr. and Cody Garrison (David Michael Reardon) get in a fight and are suspended for three games, leading to losses for the team—as well as conflict with the superintendent, who also resents Luke and Josh Jr. leading his son Ryan Jamison (Justin Sterner) to become a Christian and threatens to fire Luke. Luke feels torn between providing for his family and following God, but watching a Little League game, he sees them praying and running the bases like he does. Sam Parker (Cameron Arnett), the high school groundskeeper and Little League coach, tells Luke, “Let your light shine, coach. Let it shine bright.”

Luke persists in running the bases, despite a $250 fine per occurrence for violating a city ordinance against religious activities on municipal property, and the team starts winning again. However, one game away from being district champions, Luke is arrested as he is running the bases and has a heart incident. In jail, he turns toward evangelizing to his fellow inmates, and though he turns down an opportunity provided by a group of conservative civil rights lawyers to sue the city, he is eventually freed, showing up at the game right as his team is running the bases in his honor. At the game, he delivers a monologue about Jesus Christ to stands filled with spectators and then runs the bases with both teams before reconciling with Michael Jamison. An epilogue set eight months has Luke coaching what is now a Texas state championship team, narrating, “As you can see, God’s plans are so much better than ours.”

Filming in Harrison took place during the spring of 2021, ending on June 21, 2021. Producers specifically cited a desire to improve Harrison’s image as motivation behind filming the movie there. In addition to shooting in Harrison, some filming also took place on the campus of Evangel University (a Christian university in Springfield, Missouri), as well in as Plano, Texas. The movie was not widely reviewed outside faith-based media, which regarded the film positively.

For additional information:
Bowden, Bill. “Filming Begins in Harrison for Movie.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 30, 2021, pp. 1B, 3B. Online at https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2021/may/30/filming-begins-in-harrison-for-movie/ (accessed April 7, 2026).

Handore, Pratik. “Running the Bases (2022): Is the Movie Inspired by Real Life?” TheCinemaholic, September 13, 2022. https://thecinemaholic.com/is-running-the-bases-2022-based-on-a-true-story/ (accessed April 7, 2026).

Holz, Adam R. “Running the Bases.” PluggedIn. https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/running-the-bases-2022/ (accessed April 7, 2026).

Masterson, Mike. “Filming in Harrison.” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 5, 2021. https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/jun/05/filming-in-harrison/ (accessed April 7, 2026).

“Running the Bases.” Internet Movie Database. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8110900/ (accessed April 7, 2026).

Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas