Banquete (KIII News) — As temperatures soar outside, no one wants to be without air conditioning inside; but that is exactly what one baseball team in Banquete is dealing with.
Someone stole the AC unit from Banquete High School's field house.
The baseball field house building was donated to the high school by a nearby church a few year ago. The team revamped it and turned it into a place where players can get ready for games, do homework and relax. However, the facility was less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
"This is an extremely important building for us because prior to having this building, they would either have to change clothes at the high school, which is about a half a mile away, and come to the field everyday, which is tough because not all of our kids have vehicles," Banquete Baseball Coach Rusty Miller said.
The kids would jog that half mile to the field, or change clothes in a storage shed.
17-year-old baseball player Chris Pacheco said he is grateful for the field house and can't comprehend why someone would steal the AC unit.
"Whoever had taken it, I just can't grasp their mindset because of how many kids use this building," Pacheco said.
The facility would even host other players from different high schools, and although it isn't baseball season, Pacheco said he and his teammates would still use the field house after practicing in the batting cages.
"We would use this a lot in the summer to just come in and cool off, you know," Pacheco said. "Now that we don't have that, we just got to get in the shade somewhere."
Coach Miller said in such a small school district, a new air conditioning unit is a big expense.
"You can't just go to your school district and go, 'Hey, we need a $3,000, $4,000 air conditioner.' You just can't do that," Miller said.
Miller said he hopes they can install an AC unit soon so that the heat doesn't start damaging the inside.
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