Running the Bases

➤ Rated PG
➤ Pure Flix and DVD

Much like its central character, whose repeated circling of a baseball diamond gives the film its name, Running the Bases treads familiar ground. Even so, this gripping drama about the challenges of trusting and obeying God when His plans aren’t readily apparent is sure to have Christian audiences cheering in their seats.

Luke Brooks (Brett Varvel) is a high school baseball coach who kneels at home plate in prayer and then runs the bases—before and after every practice and game. He does this to lift his team up to God and to honor the memory of his brother, whom he watched die from a heart defect while attempting to complete an inside-the-park home run.

Brooks moves his Christian ­family from small-town Arkansas to suburban Dallas, where he’s expected to win state titles—something he did regularly at his old high school in Arkansas—immediately.

Brooks cares about winning, but he cares more about building character in the young men he coaches. After his son leads one player on the team to Jesus, Brooks gets into ­trouble with his boss, who tells him to drop the praying and religious running about. As one might expect, Brooks doesn’t stop, which leads to all sorts of legal troubles.

It would be understandable to compare Running the Bases to the football film Facing the Giants, given the central characters in both films are embattled coaches whose experiences testify to the power of faith and the influence of godly men on young lives. But Running the Bases contains more parallels to God’s Not Dead 2 with its public school setting and the legal troubles caused by a parent who objects to the Christian influence a school employee has on a child.

While primarily a drama, Running the Bases has some uproariously funny moments that provide breaks from the tension without disrupting the film’s serious tone. Particularly funny is a scene involving three feuding players, a row of port-a-potties, and a girl that one player has a crush on. Ironically, none of the funny scenes involves Christian comedian Brad Stine, who plays a member of the board at Brooks’ new school.

As powerful as it is, Running the Bases isn’t perfect. The film spends too much time on the backstory of Brooks and his family before getting into the conflict at the heart of the film. This is a minor quibble, though. Beyond one mild swear word, a scene involving alcohol consumption, and some fist-fighting, Running the Bases contains little Christian parents might find objectionable.

Running the Bases ran in theaters to little fanfare in the fall but is streaming now on Pure Flix. It is sure to hit a home run with Christian viewers, whether they love sports or not.