CINCINNATI -- It wasn’t a Taylor Swift concert, nor an appearance by Harry Styles. But the high-pitched screams and cheers coming from inside the gymnasium at Sunman Elementary School in Indiana sure sounded like they were there. For many students, seeing members of the Reds was just as good.

That’s because they had a Reds Caravan Takeover at their school on Thursday morning. Sunman Elementary was one of four schools that won a visit from the Reds after they submitted an entry to reds.com/caravan asking for a stop.

“We get to just come out and hang out with the kids and see them smiling the whole time,” Reds reliever Amir Garrett said during this first stop of the west leg of caravan. “If they ask, I’ll try to give them some inspiration and stuff like that. I just come out here to enjoy it, keep everything light and have fun. I’m a big kid myself.”

For the kids, that means a lot more than time out of the classroom.

“For our little ones, they can’t even grasp how big of a deal this is, how rare it is, to have a professional baseball team at their building,” said Beth Witte, an instructional assistant at the school for the past four years. “It brings tears to my eyes because for some of the older kids, I’m hoping this is a life-changing event, because they need this positive interaction with those that are integral in our community and surrounding areas. I’m just hoping that this sticks with them for a long time.”

The Caravan Takeover contest is open to homes, businesses, schools and hospitals to receive a visit. This year, more schools were included on the annual tour, which is averaging two schools per day. There were also children’s hospitals in Nashville and Dayton that will get visits from Reds personnel.

“There are always compelling stories,” said Corey Hawthorne, the Reds’ director of promotional events and player relations. “Sometimes, it’s from a teacher or a student or an administrator. We try to look for those, and also obviously the areas we’re going to that help us logistically because of the nature of the caravan. Every year, we get more and more entries. The players enjoy this more than anything on all of caravan.”

Just ahead of the assembly in the gym, Garrett, utility player Josh VanMeter and infield prospect Jonathan India visited with a smaller group of students who received the added treat for good deeds, excellent grades or another superlative. VanMeter hails from Ossian, Ind., located near Fort Wayne.

During the program in the gym, the screams resumed as each player was introduced and they heaved foam balls into the bleacher seats. A group of students were invited to a microphone for a question-and-answer session with the players, broadcasters Jim Day and Jeff Piecoro and vice president of player development Shawn Pender.

Among the questions from the kids:

What kinds of sports did you play growing up?

“I’m from Indiana, which it was required to play basketball when I was young,” joked VanMeter.

How do you pitch so fast?

“You have to eat your Wheaties and drink a lot of water,” said Garrett.

How do you hit fastballs?

“Close your eyes and pray,” VanMeter joked before giving a serious answer. “It’s really just repetition and training your eyes. I just work hard and keep practicing at it.”

Overall, the special stop was a hit with the kids -- and their visitors.

“It’s my first Reds Caravan, and it’s cool to see the kids,” VanMeter said. “I wish the Reds would have come to Ossian, Ind., when I was a kid. It’s a good opportunity for the kids and a good opportunity for us just to give back and show the fans and kids support.”