WASHINGTON (7News) — A new chapter in women’s sports is taking shape.

The Women’s Pro Baseball League is officially up and running, and D.C. is playing a major role in its early development.

More than 600 athletes from across the world flocked to the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Southeast DC for open tryouts, hoping to earn a spot in this brand-new league.

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“This is incredible. We’ve been waiting for this moment our whole lives. We’ve been working for this,” catcher Denae Benites told 7News Sports Anchor Natalie Spala. “I never thought I’d get the chance to play in a women’s professional baseball league.”

“The energy from the fans, from the players; I think it’s time for this, and you can kind of feel that vibe from them, for sure,” said WPBL Special Advisor and Team USA Women’s Baseball star, Alex Hugo.

Saturday’s tryouts were something Jeneane Lesco and Maybelle Blair were not going to miss.

“Oh my gosh, I’m getting ten years younger just sitting here,” said 98-year-old Blair.

“It’s the answer to our dreams for the last 30-40 years,” added 90-year-old Lesco.

Some 70 years ago, Lesco and Blair were the ones taking the field. Both women were members of the All-American Girls Pro Baseball League that launched in the early 1940s and ran until 1954.

“The thing that I remember best is going into the dressing room, I put on my little dress, and I thought I was the cutest girl that ever lived,” Blair said. “I couldn’t hardly wait to get out on the ballfield.”

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“The door has been opened to realize your dream, and it’s up to you to continue that dream. This is why we’re giving the little girls a chance to grow up and preform their dreams,” she added.

11-year-old MK Van Doon watched her favorite players from the stands, hoping that she could one day be on the same field.

“It dawned on me just how lucky I am to actually be here,” she said. “This is not an all-boys sport. This is not an all-girls sport. This is a sport for everybody.”