MIDDLETOWN — The Ohio Hawks ’98 girls fastpitch softball team barely had enough equipment Tuesday to hold a team practice, but that paled in comparison to what their weekend in Oklahoma City, Okla. was like.
“Man, it’s been a crazy 4-5 days,” Hawks coach Doug Lenos said “It was one of those deals that you can’t fully appreciate until you look back and see what all happened.”
In Oklahoma City for an ASA-sanctioned 12U national qualifier, the team’s equipment trailer was stolen Friday night. With games still to play and equipment bags of all but two players missing, Lenos and his coaches and the players’ parents made runs to local athletic supply stores for help.
“There was a sale on boys football cleats, so we bought enough for everyone,” Lenos said. “A very kind lady at the main gate, who told me her name was Sister Helen was collecting equipment from the other teams as they passed through the gate for us.”
The Ringor Softball equipment company in Wilsonville, Ore., overnighted equipment that arrived by 10 a.m. the next day. A regional representative for the Easton bat company came through with seven bats, three to four gloves, batting gloves and catcher’s equipment, and the Hawks had enough equipment to play their 3 p.m. game Saturday.
Despite playing with unfamiliar equipment and being emotionally drained from the experience, the team went on to finish ninth in the 24-team tourney and qualify for nationals.
A suspect was arrested Monday in Norman, Okla., and on Tuesday, nearly 90 percent of the team’s equipment had been recovered.
Lenos learned Tuesday that Easton is paying to ship the team’s recovered equipment back to Middletown.
“The girls have been through something that now defines them,” Lenos said. “And they gained a sense of perspective along the way, too. We drove through and saw the tornado devastation in Joplin, Mo., and we toured the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.
“This was just softball. We made hundreds of friends along the way. We’ll be OK.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.