On Monday afternoon at the end of the school day, Moira Silva drove to Penn Field in Oak Bluffs, her car filled with a carload of boys. Dressed in their uniforms, the Little League players rapidly piled out of the car and hauled the baseball equipment to the field.

It was the last day of practice for the Major League team before their first game on Tuesday. Opening day ceremonies for Little League are Saturday, April 27.

Ms. Silva is a coach, mom and secretary of the Little League program. She exudes the same excitement and anticipation for the upcoming season the players do, watching the boys throw and catch to warm up.

“Something special we’re doing is that Nicole Cancellare [from the U.S. Coast Guard] is singing the national anthem,” Ms. Silva said of the opening day ceremonies. “We also had some untimely deaths this year and we invited their families out to throw the first pitch.”

The events on Saturday begin at 9 a.m. with a parade to celebrate the official start of the season. Players will gather at the Oak Bluffs police station before marching up Circuit avenue to Viera Park and then dispersing to their respective fields for games.

Girl’s softball is returning to the Island’s Little League, with Tiffany McCarty, softball coach at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, at the helm. Some other changes include a younger group of players in the minor league division, with the cutoff age now being 12 instead of 13. The field for the major league is slightly smaller this year to adapt to the flow of summer tournament play.

Liam Merry is entering his first year in the majors and said he enjoys the friendship aspect of being a part of the team.

“I get to play with my friends and have fun,” Liam said. “It’s something to do.”

But with his jump from minors to majors, Liam said he has encountered some challenges already.

“It’s harder to hit a ball deep [with a bigger field],” he said.

But what baseball offers that many other sports don’t is chances. One tough at bat won’t cost the game or dampen any spirits.

“If you don’t nail it the first time, you can nail it the next,” Liam said.