NORWICH – Jen Brooks swings at a pitch, she misses on her first attempt, but the smile never leaves her face. Anthony Dimento tries to backhand a groundball that scoots by him. He hustles after the ball and throws it back to the pitcher. Amanda Powell is just a chatterbox with a one-liner for everyone as she multi-tasks as hitter and comedian.

Those were just three of the nearly dozen-and-a-half developmentally delayed Norwich students who participated in the first “Baseball Buddies” exhibition baseball game at the Norwich Little League field in Veterans Park Wednesday afternoon.

The idea of putting together the game came from soon-to-be Norwich senior Danny Carson, who invited current and former Norwich students to act as buddies for the developmentally delayed boys and girls.