PHOTOS: Little League tryouts see great turnout

Freshly cut grass and the smell of line chalk drifted above Ian Deutch Memorial Park as Pahrump Little League geared up for its annual spring season.

League president Lou Banuelos, who has played a crucial role in Pahrump’s baseball community for more than 30 years, said that he is looking forward to returning after stepping away for medical reasons in 2018.

“The kids are a 100-percent the reason I came back,” Banuelos said. “We started seeing a little a lesser quality of baseball coming up to us [at the high school level]. So, I thought it was smart to jump back into Little League, because they deserve another high school state championship.”

The season will feature 22 teams through six different age divisions.

Slated for opening day ceremonies on Saturday, March 15, the league looks to build upon the strength in the community and find more volunteers to maintain the new baseball field being developed opposite of field 2.

“As long as the kids continue playing baseball, then we’re good,” Banuelos said. “We want to be able to continue to foster a positive environment where every kid is welcome.”