The Shutterbugs’ Harleigh Grace Culpepper fields a grounder during their game Saturday morning at Northeast Park.

Bentley Farrar is delighted to be back on the field.

As one of the players competing in Saturday’s State Games of Mississippi slow-pitch softball event at Northeast Park, she’s glad to have her teammates on which to lean.

“I have fun, and I have friends to support me,” Farrar said. “And I support them.”

William Brown coaches Farrar and the 8U Shutterbugs softball team, made up of 6-, 7- and 8-year-old girls from around Lauderdale County. He said with all the time spent at home and away from practice since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s relieved to be back. 

“It feels good. We’ve been kind of pent up for the past three months, and it’s really been detrimental to the kids,” Brown said. “So just having these girls out here to play has been a blessing.”

Brown said an event like State Games provides an opportunity for youth softball players to make the jump to a tougher game. 

“At this age they’re learning the basics. This is the first step for most of them going from T-ball to an actual competitive game,” he said. “There are some hurdles to get through, but that’s what the coaches are for.”

Makimley Ivy said she enjoys swinging the bat above all else.

“My favorite part is hitting,” Ivy said. “You hit it, and it goes far.”

With the sun beating down and temperatures already stretching into the 80s by mid-morning, Raley Weathers said she isn’t bothered by it.

“I like playing out here, even when it’s really sunny,” Weathers said.

Brown added that while the games do involve keeping track of the score and who wins, the priority is enjoyment and improvement.  

“It’s all about having fun and instilling the love of the game, and it starts here,” he said. “The best part is watching them learn and grow.”