NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — DeMayo Field in North Haven has been closed all Spring, with no baseball. And when American Legion Baseball suspended its season earlier this month, it looked like it would be closed until next year.

Post 76 General Manager Charlie Flanagan said, “If you have adversity you have to figure out a way to get through it.”

And that’s exactly what Flanagan and friends did; battled adversity and came up with an alternative for baseball.

“The various zone chairmen have formed an LLC its called CT Elite Baseball Association, and that in fact going forward there’s now going to be the traditional legion play of zones 1 through 8,” Flanagan said.

Rules will remain the same with expanded rosters. The season would start July 2 and run through August 3 with a single game state tournament to follow.

Flanagan who works in the insurance industry helped secure vital coverage for the league and all towns involved.

“You gotta grind and I’m a grinder. My father used to tell me that I would never listen to people who told me no.”

Parents and coaches are thrilled with the idea of playing again.

Parent Renea Koval said, “both of my boys are desperate to get back on the field and when we heard Charlie Flanagan step up and offer this option we were extremely excited.”

Mike Busillo said, “I thought it was a good idea; kids need to get out, kids need to do something. You know, to give kids a good baseball experience.”

Safety concerns have also been addressed.

“We’re going to be proactive, ideally we’d like to get all the kids tested, we’d like to trace them, do our social distancing,” Flanagan said.

And if all goes as planned, baseball could be back in less than a month.

Flanagan said they are “Waiting on the governor to open up as of June 20. Gotta get the kids out there for time to stretch out and take some swings, and then hopefully July 2 we’re off to the races.”