NORWICH – There was no score kept or outs called but there were plenty of smiles on Wednesday at the Norwich Little League Field. 23 players took to the Norwich Little League Field as their teachers, community members, and parents looked on, cheering in excitement at the seventh annual Baseball Buddies game.
Norwich resident Dan Carson heard of the Challenger Division, which is organized by Little League, from a friend from Florida.
The Challenger Division is Little League’s adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. The player is paired up with a buddy who assist the athletes in the areas of batting, base running and defense, but only as needed.
“I was close with a lot of the kids in my class like Amanda [Powell] and Anthony [Dimento], people that have been here for seven years now. I heard about the idea of this paired up baseball game and thought there is no reason why were can’t do it in Norwich.”
Once Carson graduated from high school, his younger brother Michael took over the yearly organization of the game to keep the game going in the area. Michael Carson “I saw how the turn out continuing to increase and saw how happy everyone gets. I was happy to carry out the tradition because I knew it would only get better and it would only be more fun to continue to do it.”
Every year since, the Carson’s have seen the number of students interested in playing climb.
This year, the amount of participation allowed for three innings of play, which gave each player three at-bats and three inning to play in the field.
There was little help needed but the players buddies as all were into the action of every play happening. Kids were diving for the ground ball, running all over the field to make the play. Some were even sliding into home. “It’s a lot of fun to play every year because I get to be out with the guys,” said seven year player Amanda Powell. “I love to be out here. It’s a lot of fun and it gets me to be active more. I just really love it.” This year was Powell’s last year playing but she will be sure to come back and watch the action in the future. 
The best part of witnessing the game was the sportsmanship presented. After every hit or play made in the field, the players and buddies were high-fiving their teammates or opponents. Cheers were shouting across the field to one another. The atmosphere was unlike any other.
“The feeling of being out there is perfect,” said Michael. “I can feel nothing but happy. I see kids that have no idea what they are doing, running around and making piles of dirt or picking grass but they just have the biggest smiles on their faces. They swing and miss, they still have a smile on their face. That’s why everyone likes to help every year.”
There were many buddies who dedicated their time to assist during the game as well as two coaches for each team as well an announcer calling out the action of the game. Norwich Little League board members Dave Mack and Jason Miller prepared the field before the game. The Norwich Little League donated the water and hot dogs that were provided to all players following the contest.
“It’s a Norwich community thing,” said Dan. “Yeah, my family does the organization but its a group effort. Kids who are currently enrolled in the school district as well as kids that have graduated come back to help out. Community members donate their time to ready the field and run the concession stand for us. This is what I know Norwich as.”
The annual game will return next year with a time and date to be announced.
The 2018 Baseball Buddies players: Brennan Cox, Zachary Craw, Aden Tabor, Brok Towndrow, Joey Thompson, Levi Fink, Connor, Abe Manhardt, Patrick Stone, Jackson Crandall, Emma Weckesser, Ella Wiswell, Noah Harrington, Jenny Donnelly, Kenneth Smith, James Donnelly, Shadon Burger, Anthony Dimento, Amanda Powell, and Ryan Glen.