Little Leaguers hustled onto the Harvey West baseball field for opening ceremonies on Saturday.

Toughness and spunk radiated from the faces of a trio of Padres on Saturday.

Some of the youngest players were welcomed to the field on Saturday by the veterans as Santa Cruz Little League Opening Day festivities took place at Harvey West Park in Santa Cruz. The league, founded in 1952, has 37 teams with 430 players ages 5 to 13 this year. Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley, police Chief Bernie Escalante and City Parks and Rec Director Tony Elliot joined hundreds of parents and kids for the annual parade of teams to kick off a full day of action-packed games. The performance of the national anthem and rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” were performed and led by legendary local musicians Sharon Allen, Patti Maxine, Carolyn Sills and Jimmy Norris. Santa Cruz Little League is the largest and oldest Little League in Santa Cruz County. For more information, go to santacruzlittleleague.org.

Nathaniel Ow sported a bit of bling to Opening Day.

Youngsters took to the field on Saturday.