Stolen equipment doesn't deter Keller ISD softball team from playoff game

KELLER — Someone stole more than a dozen bags of team equipment from the Keller High School women's softball team. But that didn't stop the team from winning their big payoff game in Midland, TX on Friday.

"This could have gone one of two ways," said Assistant Coach Jessica Pauls. "It could have been really just been a negative turning point."

Pauls told CBS News Texas that just hours before Friday's game they found out all 18 bags of the team's equipment was stolen from under their charter bus.

"Two gloves, two to three bats, personal items — the works; It was all gone," said Pauls. "I thought it was a fever dream to be honest with you. I just couldn't believe it. It just seemed like something out of a movie that we were making up."

An Apple air tag was thankfully in one of those bags, which led police and parents to a dumpster at an Odessa apartment. However, only some of the bags were there, and the equipment once inside them was nowhere in sight.

That's when the social media community stepped in. Team members' parents started talking about the ordeal online, and people across Midland and DFW flooded to the team's hotel to drop off piles of new and used equipment. Pauls says The Texas Rangers even donated $1,000 to the team, while stores like Academy and Dick's Sporting Goods gave the team a significant discount.

"We were going to win a ballgame — borrowed equipment or not. So, we got a bunch of gloves and a bunch of bats and a bunch of helmets that didn't belong to any of us and we went out and we won a playoff game. It was incredible," Pauls recalled.

After a rain delay, the Keller Indians beat El Paso Eastwood 4 - 2.

The next day, Midland detectives then called the coaches to let them know they found the rest of the equipment on the side of the highway. Some of the gear was significantly damaged, but the girls' gloves and sentimental items were all intact.

"I think it just shows the heart and soul of this team," Pauls said. "No matter what happens, no matter what this group faces, they can conquer it all if they conquer it together."

Investigators have not found the thieves or made any arrests yet. In the meantime, the Keller softball team is preparing to play in the third round of playoffs next week.