Baseball bats stolen from Immokalee High baseball team before season opener

A baseball team is heartbroken after their bats were stolen from an equipment shed in Immokalee.

The team at Immokalee High School is supposed to play their first game of the season Tuesday night.

The team noticed the bats were missing on Monday morning, their final practice before their season opener on Tuesday against Lehigh. In total, eight bats were taken.

Adam Turrubiartez is good at baseball. He’s been on Immokalee’s High School’s varsity team since freshman year.

He was excited to take the field again.

“We see the shed right there,” Turrubiartez said. “The glass is broken, we are like OK, somethings off and we go unlock the cage.”

The thief left behind gloves, baseballs and some other equipment.

“We just see that to the left of us all of our bats are gone,” Turrubiartez said.

He said he felt shocked.

The thieves took Turrubiartez bat, a sentimental gift from his dad. He estimates it costs about $1,000.

“And in our community that’s not as affluent as some communities around us that’s a lot of money and that’s a lot of work,” said Christopher Siner, activities coordinator for Immokalee High School.

Cameron Coe, a junior, said it’s more than just the cost.

“It’s like a connection,” Coe said. “Like when that bat got stolen, it’s like something valuable got stolen from me.”

But during Tuesday night’s game, Coe will have to swing a different bat instead.

“I still feel more confident with mine because I’ve had it for a while,” he said.