Competitive baseball is making a comeback in Lawrence.

For evidence, look no further than the Heinrich league for ages 14 and under, where enrollment has swelled to nine teams, up from six teams last year.

“The big reason I think we’ve got better numbers this year is we were able to bring back a lot of traveling teams that had last year played out of town, like the Rebels, and the 88’s,” League Director Mike Mattin said.

Those two teams played in the Shawnee County Amateur Baseball Assn. last year, but they will be playing part-time in the Heinrich League, whose teams play at the Holcom Sports Complex near 27th and Iowa streets in Lawrence.

The reason? For starters, it’s more convenient for everyone involved to stay in town.

“We basically just wanted home games,” said P.J. O’Stronic, one of the Rebels’ coaches. “The league is run real well and we’re happy with it. We had some grandparents who wouldn’t go to Topeka or Kansas City.”

Maverick Andrew Schoneweis throws the ball during pregame warmups May 31 at Holcom. The Heinrich League game between the Maverics and the Rebels was canceled because of rain.

Bruce Scott, assistant coach of the 88’s, agreed.

“We as coaches decided if we could play in a local league as well, that would just be good all-around for the kids,” Scott said.

This year, seven of the nine Heinrich league teams will travel to play tournament games. Last season, only one team participated in games outside of league play.

The increased competition marks a return to the role that the Heinrich league has traditionally played in Lawrence. Unlike the other local leagues, Heinrich coaches hand pick their teams.

Mattin is thrilled with the league’s progress since he took the reins two years ago.

“The Heinrich League was really in trouble last year and we were able to keep it going,” Mattin said. “I think the coaches saw that our association has gotten stronger again.”

The Heinrich League is part of the Louie Holcom Amateur Baseball Assn. (LHABA), which includes the Houk League, also for ages 14 and under, and the Ice League for older players.

The Houk League also saw its enrollment increase this year, adding one squad from last year to bring their total to eight. Four of the coaches in the Houk league are returning to coach again this year.

The Houk League is designed to be less competitive than the Heinrich league, and the teams are determined through a draft. Unlike last year, there will be no interleague play between the two leagues.

This year also brought two name changes to the LHABA leagues. The Houk league changed its name from the Houk/Ice League, and the Holcom League became the Ice League.