GRAHAM, N.C. -- It’s hard to underscore the importance of baseball in the state of North Carolina. As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, minor league baseball was shut down. Several teams in the Coastal Plain League, which fields collegiate players, have opted not to play.

However, the Old North State League is still trotting along with college baseball players from all over the country trying to maintain some normalcy.

"We're just playing baseball, we know the situation going on in the world right now," says Bull City Crash infielder Chase Breski. "The fact that we can just get out there and play ball every now and then, we'll take it."

The league has instituted a number of safety precautions. Each stadium exercises their own attendance limits. Players can't travel on buses to games, they need to ride in small groups for away contests.

"For them it's really been about just playing baseball," says head coach Aaron Brown. "They lost their [spring] seasons and they're willing to do whatever is required to play these games and they've done a good job of it."

The ONSL features eight teams playing a 24-game schedule throughout the summer. More information can be found here .