By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

Cornerstone Christian School softball coaches and players didn’t know where to turn for help when they discovered more than $2,000 worth of equipment, mainly the team’s game-used bats, stolen from the school over the weekend.

When Tonya Rodgers learned about the situation, she thought her son Dillon’s girlfriend, Spain Park High School softball player April Scott, may be able to provide some help. Dillon Rodgers played baseball at Cornerstone Christian.

Scott told her coach at Spain Park, C.J. Hawkins, about the stolen bats and went above and beyond to help out her neighbor school across Shelby County.

The Jaguars donated seven bats to Cornerstone Christian to help the Chargers replace the stolen equipment.

“It’s our pleasure,” Hawkins said to Rodgers in a text message. “Please accept them as a small gift from us. If (you) need anything else, please don’t hesitate to call. No need to return them.”

Cornerstone Christian coach Mark Armstrong said his players couldn’t be more thankful for Spain Park’s generosity.

“To give us seven bats was unbelievable,” Armstrong said. “We so appreciate it.”

Rodgers said Scott, a senior at Spain Park, was instrumental in helping the Chargers replace the stolen bats.

“In a matter of 30 minutes,” Rodgers said, “I had an answer from April. Once she got the OK from her coach, she was looking around in the dugout. By the time it was all over with, she had seven bats. It was a team effort on their part.”

Armstrong, who said the school filed a police report concerning the stolen bats, said the thieves also took a bag that belonged to his deceased cousin, Scott Armstrong.

“It didn’t have any school colors on it or anything,” Armstrong said. “We carried it with us as a reminder of him.”