HOUSTON -- A Houston-area league is helping children with disabilities enjoy an American pastime -- baseball. But these children are not just watching from the stands, they are playing on the field, KPRC Local 2 reported Monday.

"I feel happy and a little nervous," player Allison Rosenberg said.

"It is just a joy to come out here and see these kids feel like big league players," father Robin Elston said.

Two years ago, the West University Baseball League started Challenger Ball.

"We play by rules like nothing else you have ever seen," said Joni Fichter, with the West University Challenger League.

On Sundays, from March until May, children with all types of special needs take the field.

"Everybody gets a hit. Everybody gets on base. Everybody is safe," Fichter said.

Each athlete has at least one buddy -- another child to help them make it back home.

"Having a buddy means I can talk to them and get focused for the game, you know, get your head in the game," Molly Miller said.

The buddy system is about more than scoring.

"I learned a lot of patience," buddy Trace Knoblauch said.

"They have a new gentleness and new kindness for other kids that their paths might have never crossed, otherwise," Fichter said.

"She is more like a friend to me than a challenger buddy," Kylie Fichter said.

For parents in the stands, it's much more than a game.

"This is not about therapy. This is not about having to get him prepared to do something that is physically challenging. This is just fun," mother Denise Trahan said.

For more information, visit www.westull.org/challenger.htm.