DODGING A CURVEBALL DONORS OFFER UP FUNDS TO HELP TAFT REPLACE STOLEN EQUIPMENT.

Byline: Josh Kleinbaum Staff Writer

WOODLAND HILLS - Zach Sperber was convinced it was a joke, a belated April Fools' day prank, when on Monday a teammate on the Taft High School baseball team called to say that all of their equipment - gloves, bats, balls, cleats, even sunglasses - had been stolen.

"I just didn't believe it," said Sperber, a pitcher on the Taft High baseball team. "Our whole team didn't believe it. We didn't know something like this could happen."

This was no joke. Burglars broke off two locks that secured a large shipping crate the team uses as a locker room and ransacked the crate, stealing nearly $25,000 in equipment.

"It's a sickening feeling, seeing everything gone," said utility player Josh Feldman, who discovered the theft Monday morning when he went to put some stuff in his locker. "It made me sick to my stomach.

"Feldman lost four bats, three gloves, a pair of cleats, two pairs of batting gloves and Oakley sunglasses - equipment purchased by him or his family, not the school.

But as he told his tale, Feldman held a Major League Baseball game-used ball autographed by Dodgers great Ron Cey - a symbol of turning fortunes of the Taft baseball team.

Friday, Cey and Dodgers executives presented the team with a check for $5,000 for new equipment. The Sportsmen's Lodge also donated $5,000, and the Woodland Hills Hilton donated $3,000.

The baseball team from Taft High School in Bakersfield collected $700 for the Woodland Hills team that shares the same name, and members of the community have been stopping by to drop off cash, gloves and cleats.

"We're privileged to be able to donate back and restore some order," Cey said. "Hopefully, this will return this ball club to a little bit of normalcy."

Taft players still hope to someday recover their old equipment. Baseball players will do anything to break in a glove - even using a microwave or shaving cream - and no amount of money can replace a perfectly molded mitt.

"In previous break-ins, some stuff was found on eBay," Taft Assistant Principal Gerardo Barrios said. "If they're doing it for the money, it could be easy to find this stuff. We're hopeful we'll be able to recover it."

Police may have gotten a break Thursday, when burglars set off an alarm while breaking into John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills. Police arrested two suspects and are searching for three more, and believe the crew is responsible for four school burglaries over the last week, including the break-in at Taft.

"The suspects provided information about the (other burglaries)," LAPD Detective Randy Elzinga said. "We're trying to follow that up."

For now, Taft is trying to salvage a season. The team had its first game since the burglary Friday night, against Chatsworth. Players had new gloves and new cleats, and hoped the theft could become inspiration for a second-half run for a team that floundered to a 4-9 record to start the season.

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Howard Sunkin, senior vice president of public affairs for the Dodgers, left, presents a $5,000 check to Taft High School baseball coach Chuck Berrington, center, as former Dodger Ron Cey helps on Friday.

(2) Members of the Taft High School baseball team don new caps - courtesy of the Dodgers - at the Woodland Hills campus on Friday.

Joel P. Lugavere/Special to the Daily News