After several members were lost in a school shooting, the Uvalde Little League continues to play with determination

“Uvalde, we’re a tight-knit community,” Suarez said in an interview with ABC13 on Thursday. “And we lost 21 people, 22 with Joe Garcia, to this tragedy.”

Suarez is the President of the Uvalde Little League. With ribbons in their hair and logos on their uniforms, players from both a Uvalde softball team and a baseball team competed in Thursday’s Junior Sectional Tournament at the Medina Valley Youth Baseball Association Complex in Castroville.

Not only is Cheryl Sanchez the Uvalde Little League’s softball player agent, her daughter is also a member of the team.

“Children heal better through play,” said Sanchez, who is from Uvalde. “The resilience they showed was just remarkable. In many ways I think they do better than the adults. And we just felt like we shouldn’t take anything away from them.”

More than half of the 19 students who died at Robb Elementary School were involved with the Uvalde Little League, including six victims who were registered for this season.

“You watched them play,” Sanchez said of the young victims of the shooting. “We have a very small facility, so the older girls served as mentors to the younger ones. They also play out there to support the siblings who have lost loved ones. It’s hard to put into words, “because it’s incredible.”

Actions speak louder than words – even if those words are hard to find. So this group of Little Leaguers are stepping into the field for their friends, family and teachers who were taken way too soon.

“Speaking to some of the Little Leaguers family members that we lost, they encouraged us to keep going,” revealed Suarez.

Go forward without going further.

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