The nation's largest mall served as the backdrop for the competition to crown the nation's best wheelchair softball team Saturday.

The National Wheelchair Softball Association's annual World Series drew 18 teams from each corner of the country to Minnesota. Over three days and 65 games, they competed for the ultimate crown.

Mall of America hosted the event in its north parking lots, with five diamonds of games happening simultaneously.

For players, it's a chance to compete, but also connect.

"Yes, we're going to fight in between the lines, but we're brothers outside of it," said Brendan Downes, a member of the Minnesota Rolling Twins. "We've been through the foxhole of life together. That puts you in a different relationship all the way around."

Downes has been a wheelchair user since a surgery early in life. His father, Jeff, serves as an event organizer.

"To be able to see him make a difference in other people's lives, as Courage Center did for us, for him, it's a very rewarding payback," Jeff Downes said. "It's a community. It's an opportunity for sports outlet — if you think you can't do it, come out — give it a try."