Fishtown baseball team left scrambling after equipment stolen before season opener

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A middle school baseball team in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood is working to get back on the field after all of their equipment was stolen.

The team is asking for help.

"For them to have their stuff stolen before their first game was heartbreaking," said Drew Zimmerman, parent of one of the players.

The items were inside the St. Laurentius Catholic School team's coach car. Last week, his car was stolen from in front of his Fishtown home, just days before their first season opener.

"We just established this. This is the first team for St. Laurentius in seven years," said Zimmerman. "My son, he was ecstatic, and for this to happen, he was just completely saddened, disappointed. Broken."

Parents started rallying the community for support, hoping someone will come to their rescue.

Rose Zimmerman posted a desperate plea to Facebook and was met with an overwhelming response.

"I just wrote the Facebook post. The amount of people who contacted me and the school, I mean, couldn't be more grateful," said Zimmerman. "We had nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's amazing."

Thanks to the kind-hearted people, the team now has some of what they need, but still a long way to go.

"I think they have enough to get through this game, hopefully, continue with the rest of this season," said Zimmerman.

Anyone interested in helping the team is asked to contact St. Laurentius Catholic School at (215) 423-8834.