For the past decade, the 59-year-old fan has worn the same shirt to her team's home opener. Then, back into the drawer it goes.
“I don't want to wear it out because they are going to be around for the next 40, 50 years,” Crosier said.
Opening night is one of the busiest in the team's 38-home-game season, with 3,023 fans in attendance Tuesday. The other is the Fourth of July celebration, which will take place at the July 3 home game against the Helena Brewers.
The Osprey's 103 newly trained seasonal employees were frantic behind the concession stands minutes before the first pitch, when they temporarily ran out of franks and burgers, but later managed to catch up.
The sound system cut out sporadically as Sho-Down's Jeff Daniels sang the national anthem.
Other than that, things flowed as smoothly as the beer.
Missoula's new police chief, Mark Muir, and representatives of several local businesses threw out the first pitch. The Osprey try to get someone who has a connection to the city, said general manager Matt Ellis.
Kandie O'Neill, 58, and her daughter Megan, 30, sat in the first row, squarely behind home plate, just as they did last year. The health-conscious duo enjoyed a hot dog and pretzel, an indulgence they allow only on opening day.
Baseball has become a family tradition for these women, each dragging her daughter to the ballpark. It all began with Kandie's mother, who died several years ago.
Before baseball was televised, the Butte gal would drive around the mining town until she could pick up a signal for the Minnesota Twins games. Harmon Killebrew was her favorite player, O'Neill recalls.
“She's with us in spirit,” she said.
For many, the beginning of the Pioneer League baseball season represents the beginning of summer, and Tuesday's hot sunny weather played into that image.
“It's the start of my social life for the summer,” Crosier said. “I'm ready to settle in and watch every pitch.”
Growing up, the self-proclaimed tomboy gravitated toward baseball because of its history and the nation's admiration for the sport. But it wasn't until age 27 that she first put a glove on her hand.
Though her 25-year softball career finished short because of an injury, Crosier remains active in the stands.
A decade ago, Crosier and her mother stood second in line at a promotional event to sign up for season tickets. In the beginning, she sat along the first-base line, but wanted to get closer to her team. Today, she sits just five rows up from the home dugout.
She's stuck with the Osprey through their wins and losses. Her most best memories of the team in the past decade are of its Pioneer League championship in 1999, the team's first year in town.
“That success was there so fast,” she said. “It hooked you and made you such a believer.
It's seldom a game sells out. Last year, attendance averaged about 2,500 fans per game, Ellis said. Typically, general admission seating is available.
The ball club markets the event as a show, as opposed to just a game. This was the first year Ellis and his team have been able to focus their on their product, rather than construction of the stadium.
That means expanding the Kids Zone and moving it toward the grassy knoll near left field. It also means a new putting green and stations where kids can play Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
Private pregame barbecues are up 20 percent from last year, Ellis said. Only three home games remain for groups who wish to make barbecue reservations.
“We can't control what happens on the field,” he said. “The fun experience, that's what we can control.”
The Osprey take on the Mustangs again Wednesday at Ogren-Allegiance Field beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $6 for general admission and up.
Reporter Chelsi Moy can be reached at 523-5260 or at chelsi.moy@missoulian.com.
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