LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — It’s a Thursday afternoon in June as the sun warms the Clarksville Little League baseball fields.
The empty fields are quiet, but only for a few more moments, because the Clarksville Challenger League will soon take over the stadium. The special needs baseball league has been a part of summers in southern Indiana for more than 30 years.
No one keeps score and no one makes it out during the two-inning games played in May and June.
This season, 118 Southern Indiana players ages 4 to 64 are playing in the league. Mickey Higdon, the league’s organizer for the past 29 years, said they don’t turn anyone away.
“It’s an opportunity to give these kids a chance to play ball,” Higdon said. “All we do is have fun playing ball.”
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Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Images of the Clarksville Challenger League at Clarksville Little League in Clarksville, Indiana on June 13, 2024.
Cody Burke has played in the league for three years and boasts of hitting six home runs.
“It’s amazing, you can play with your friends and family,” Burke said. “I just enjoy it.”
Wayne Brewer first got his son involved in the league and then became a coach.
“We started with my little guy about 20 years ago, we wanted to do something to keep him active, we got here and he just kept growing and growing,” Brewer said. “These kids love it. You see a lot of parents, sisters and brothers here helping each other.”
Coaches will stand in front of the pitcher’s mound and throw balls to batters, who sometimes have help from other coaches or parents. When a pitch is hit, the traditional run to first base follows amid applause from the crowd.
Each team bats twice while the other team plays defense in the field. When baserunners cross home plate, they receive applause and support.
“The look on their faces when they hit a ball, catch it, come to the plate, it just doesn’t get any better than that,” coach Barry Fike said. “It’s a great joy.”
The league has its largest enrollment this year thanks to its policy of welcoming everyone to play baseball.
“I can show you a player who is in a wheelchair, has no mobility, has been in the league as long as I have, is almost 40 years old, how can you tell that player that he is too old?” Higdon said. “We don’t do it, we make it happen.”
The league has some support beyond parents, coaches and the Clarksville Parks and Recreation Department.
“Without our sponsors, we would be fine, but we wouldn’t be able to do the things we do,” Higdon said.
Clarksville Optimist Club has sponsored the league for 29 years. The Caesars Foundation of Floyd County also funds the league. Last year, the Baseball Heaven Alumni Association donated $1,000 worth of equipment.
Each week, the players leave the stadium with a cold drink and plenty of baseball memorabilia.
“You’ll see the smiles and the laughter, that’s what makes it worth it,” Higdon said.
There are still one more series of games left this summer, scheduled for Thursday, June 20. The league will have a year-end banquet with pizza, cake and trophies the following week.
Registration information is sent annually in January.
For more information on the Clarksville Challenger League, click here.
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