Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Robbie Holliday rounds third and heads for home plate.

Led by Christopher DeLatush (middle), Challenger Baseball League players congratulate each other after a game.

Hunter King (right), gives opposing catcher Jeremy Farris (left) a hug after he touched home plate.

The summer sun throws long shadows across the pitcher's mound. It is a tight, one-run game at Moyer Sports Complex in Salem. The home team is up to bat, and a ball is hit to deep right field.

Glenvar A's baseball player, Hunter King, crosses home plate on the play and immediately gives the opposing catcher, a broadly smiling Jeremy Farris, possibly the biggest hug ever given to an opposing player on a baseball field. That's just how it is for participants in the Challenger baseball league.

The Challenger League Baseball District 12, started by Sid Witt Jr. and his father, Sid Witt Sr., is a league for children and young adults with mental and physical disabilities. The league started with eight players in 1989 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Six teams and 78 players now make up the league, which runs from April through late June.

"We want society to see how these kids make a difference. They may look a little different, they may talk a little different, they may walk a little different, but deep down inside, they are the same as anyone else, and if you come to a game you will see that," Sid Witt Jr. said.

Stephanie Roy, whose son, Spencer, is in the league, said he's been participating for more than six years.

"Spencer just loves to play the sport, he really has fun playing," Roy said. "He gets the biggest smile on his face when he knows he is going to a game, and he can't wait to get out on the field."

Although the Witts have expanded the league with donations from local organizations, funding is an ongoing concern.

"We are a self-funded league, and it's expensive to field these teams," Sid Witt Jr. said. Equipment, uniforms, registration fees and trophies cost about $19,000 per year. This year, fundraising efforts include a charity golf tournament -- which is in its 13th year -- and for the first time, a charity music benefit that will be held July 25 at the Roanoke Moose Lodge 284, featuring Solrevolt.

On a recent warm summer night, Sid Witt Jr. makes the rounds during the game, pitching, directing players to balls, and carrying one child on his back all the way around the bases, depositing him happily at home plate.

"These kids will change your life," Sid Witt Jr. said. "I guarantee if you come watch one of these games, you will be changed. There is no way that you can watch a game and not feel better at the end of the game than you did at the start."