RIVER FALLS — What unfolded into a story on NBC News with Tom Llamas had much simpler origins out of River Falls. With D-Bat’s baseball and softball facilities having a few quieter hours during weekdays in the winter, they sought to give the community a chance to use it. Instructor Mady Bunnell, a UWRF graduate, had the idea to reach out to senior care facilities in the city like Our House and The Sycamore. The groups each brought in residents to test their luck on putting a ball into the cheap seats.

“We’re a memory care facility, and sometimes it’s hard bringing them to places because they all have various abilities,” Our House Senior Living Executive Director Elli Anfinson said. “Maddy had shared with me that a family member of hers had Alzheimer’s, and she was very excited to bring us in.”

Our House aims for at least one big monthly outing, as well as smaller outings throughout, so getting to D-Bat brought some nice memories.

“It’s great to get out,” Anfinson said. “They seem to have a lot of fun when we get out. It’s good to get fresh air. It’s good to see new people.”

Anfinson recalled a trip to Caribou Coffee, where one of the residents saw a former neighbor, making the day a special one.

The amazing experience at D-Bat did not stop at day’s end, though, as a video of Our House taking swings and cheering each other on went viral on social media. NBC even reached out through the website, asking if they could feature the video on the news. At first, they were not even sure if it was real.

“It’s been really cool to see all the attention it’s been getting, very unexpected,” River Falls D-Bat Owner Nate Kochendorfer said.

Kochendorfer credited the marketing team for showcasing what D-Bat does and the positives they bring to the community.

“We’ve always said we are a place for everybody. Everybody is welcome at D-Bat. We’re a place where you don’t have to make our team or something like that,” Kochendorfer said. “We’re here to help everybody achieve their goals or just have a good time. We’re about experiences as much as we are developing talent and helping people out.”

D-Bat has worked with anyone from 3-year-olds to senior care residents. Even discus trainees have practiced in the facility.

Since going viral, family members have reached out thanking D-Bat and the care facilities, and caretakers have successfully explained what a viral video is to the residents.

“They were very excited, and they still are very excited,” Anfinson said. “We go on quite a few outings, but this has really been the one that they’ve continued to talk about and share stories from.”

In particular Our House resident Kathy Collins, who brought back some cheers from her cheerleading days at Mondovi in the video, has taken in the fame.

“We shared that with some of the residents, and specifically Kathy, who was the cheerleader in the video, and they couldn’t believe it,” Anfinson said. “Kathy wanted to call her family and let them know that she was going to be on the news. Now she goes around saying she’s famous.”

From D-Bat’s perspective, they have had a blast teaching about the latest in sports technology and giving the opportunity to try it out.

“It’s fun to see how technology has evolved, and expose them to it,” Kochendorfer said. “Just seeing how much fun they have in cheering each other on, it’s pretty neat.”

D-Bat is located at 679 Whitetail Blvd. in River Falls. To learn more, visit dbatriverfalls.com