Photo by Sarah Ause Frederick County Challenger players Amanda Burns, Katie Masser and Jordan Jason dance in between innings of the exhibition game of the Little League World Series on Saturday.

The young boy who uses a walker was laughing. The child who needed the help of a coach to get a hit grinned at first base.

In Challenger Little League baseball, no statistics are kept. The batters are always safe.

The goal is not to win, but to build self-esteem in young, disabled children.

Judging by the smiling and laughing, everybody won at Saturday's Challenger showcase game at Howard J. Lamade Stadium.

The Frederick Challenger Little League team participated in official Little League World Series festivities for the first time, facing a Peachtree City squad from Atlanta.

Frederick played in a two-inning exhibition prior to the Little League World Series United States championship game.

"It went fabulous," Maryland Little League District II administrator Gregg Quedeweit said. "You've got to realize there are about 10,000 people here right now."

The players seemed to enjoy being in the spotlight.

Katie Masser, 9, who has Down's Syndrome, is the owner of the pink glove. She plays shortstop and is one of the team's real hams. After scoring a run, she stood on home plate for several seconds with both hands raised.

"She's eating all this attention up," said Amy Kellerman, her mother, who bought the pink glove at Target. "We had to yank her off home plate."

The players got plenty of attention.

ESPN commentator Harold Reynolds, a former second baseman with the Baltimore Orioles, met with the two teams before the exhibition.

Lamade Stadium was about half-full while Frederick played. Several hundred green-clad Frederick fans made the trip.

The players were all introduced over the loudspeaker. After their names were called, most tipped their caps and smiled.

During each at-bat, their names were posted in capital letters on the scoreboard in left field.

All the frills were taken care of by Little League World Series employees. Meanwhile, Frederick manager Fred Laliberte and his coaching staff tried to keep the players focused.

He made sure everyone batted in turn, he encouraged his players and he put his arms around the ones struggling to hit to help them.

Between innings, he led his squad in a "YMCA" dance. After the game, he rounded everyone up for a team photo.

His players excelled. Phillip Shepard, 20, who suffers from epilepsy, became the first Challenger player ever to hit a home run in the showcase. His 220-foot home run cleared the centerfield fence.

After running the bases, Mr. Shepard waved to his family in the stands.

"That home run was for all my fans," Mr. Shepard said.

Mr. Shepard was one of the few players who could notice the forgiving rules. When teammate Austin Comfort was hit by a soft, underhand pitch, Mr. Shepard said he should have been given a free base.

Instead, Mr. Comfort got a chance to hit again. He smiled when he reached first base.

Each player received a medal. After the game, Katie showed off her keepsake to her family.

"She loves it," Ms. Kellerman said. "She loves baseball. She's not playing with regular kids, so there is not a lot expected of her. This is a comfort zone for her."