They have become an emblem of hope in a country looking for heartwarming stories. Their lives and the team they created have been the focus of intense news media interest. Because of all that has happened to them, the players are being lauded because they have continued to display the selflessness and unwavering commitment that Japanese value in baseball players, and athletes in general.

That they are now scattered throughout the prefecture and can practice together only one day each weekend has made their story even more compelling. Some of the boys have never played together, yet they appear to have become fast friends. Their obvious flaws — like the many overthrown balls and the ground balls that skipped under infielders’ legs — are beside the point.

Of course, students throughout northeastern Japan have been affected by the tsunami and nuclear crisis. Many players were practicing when the earthquake struck at 2:46 on March 11 and ran to safety in their uniforms. Players in Rikuzentakata escaped the surging waves that then engulfed their school by running to a field on higher ground. Most teams have players who lost loved ones and homes, or are living in refugee centers.

But the unique circumstances surrounding the Soso Rengo team has brought national attention. Tsukasa Yano, the manager of a baseball club from Kochi Prefecture that was also formed out of a merger of two high schools, sent the Soso Rengo team cups of ivy cut from the famed walls of Koshien Stadium, Japan’s answer to Wrigley Field.

Still, the Soso Rengo team’s formation has not been easy. Uniting three teams led to hand-wringing over which uniforms to wear, which fight songs to sing and who would lead the team. The players were allowed to wear their own uniforms, but they don the same blue hats with two characters that identify the Soso coastal district where the schools are located. Yoshihiro Hattori, the manager of Futaba Shoyo, where 14 of the team’s 17 members played, leads the team.