Valuable Softball Equipment Stolen From Shed At Lincoln High School
DENVER (CBS4) - The Abraham Lincoln High School softball team was hit with a crushing blow before they could even get on the field. They will begin their season on Thursday.
"I opened up my gate and came around and my locks had been busted, and my shed had been cleaned out," said Lincoln Lancers head coach Dan Medina.
When Medina got to the shed in Denver last Monday, all the softball equipment was gone. Stolen were items he collected for more than 23 years as Lincoln's coach.
"Pitching machines were taken out. Buckets of balls, whiffle balls, and bats were taken out of here," Medina explained. "The thing is they took the pitching machine, but left the legs, so the machine is useless to them."
A pitching machine could cost $4,000, which is too pricey for Medina's team budget. Pitching machines are useful to the softball team for several reasons. First, it allows the team to practice hitting the ball to simulate live pitching. Next, and most importantly, having the machine helps Medina run practice while also keeping the players safe with social distancing.
"The buckets that were taken were used balls and balls from accumulation. So, we used them on the machine. We used them all over the field. We were able to set up a lot of stations and work with a lot of kids. Now we can't set those stations up and we still have to practice social distancing," Medina said.
The community is doing its best to help, but it's not enough. The team will have to practice with their game balls and the players will have to buy their own bats and helmets.
As the season is set to begin in a few days, Medina is hoping the equipment will return to the school. Until then, he will continue to prepare his team for the start of the season and is using this as an opportunity to teach his girls a valuable life lesson.
"Keep your head up and just keep going. Life is always going to throw you a curve when you play ball. You're going to get a curve ball in life every day, but you got to keep swinging."
