Saturday reminded me why I love sports.

Easily, Game 6 of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Golden State Warriors was an instant classic, but despite the magnitude of that game, something earlier in the day warmed my heart.

In the midst of other activities going on at Bazinsky Field and Halls Ferry Park, the Challenger League held its annual baseball tournament.

For those unaware, Challenger League is an organized slow-pitch softball league for individuals with special needs coordinated by Sandy Hearn with help from Vicksburg Girls Softball Association President Rick Daughtry, not Rick Shields who was credited in the Monday’s photo package.

I covered the event last summer and when I first interviewed Hearn she said being able to get kids to home plate, hit the ball and run the bases is what the game is about opposed to the final result.

And the players enjoy themselves out on the field.

In the first of two games that afternoon, the flow of the game was more relaxed. Daughtry pitched off the mound and closer to the box and would loosely throw the ball to first or third place for an out.

Players ran the bases with enthusiasm and excitement inning after inning. One player had his head so far into the game he even ran by a teammate as they both ran toward home plate.

The later half of the doubleheader was a more competitive and conventional game of softball. Hits were more powerful and an outside-the-park homerun came during the game.

What I noticed during the tournament was how much the players enjoyed being around each other, especially their coaches. In typical sporting fashion, players gave Hearn a water-cooler bath after the game between Hearn Trucking and Buford Construction.

The tournament ended with an awards ceremony and posed for pictures with teammates for family memories. Daughtry even fired up the grill to cook hot dogs and sausages for the players, coaches, parents and volunteers.

While collegiate and professional athletics are the face of sports, local and recreation sports carve out a space for everyone to live out their athletic adventures. Sports are even more enjoyable when it’s played for the love of the game and the greedy and sometimes-mischievous nature associated with fierce competition is removed from the game.

The work put in by Hearn, Daughtry, the Mississippi Mudbugs and any other volunteers connected with these programs is greatly appreciated by the ones who it touches. Thank You.