Fundraiser Follows Victorious JV Baseball Game; Squirrels Beware

West Coast Kitchen Cafe hosted a fundraiser and raffle for Mar Vista JV baseball on Thursday night, giving away swag like hats and hoodies, as well as two bicycles, and served up pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw and lemonade to a crowd of more than 60. 

The annual event raised money that will go toward paving the dirt surface of the Mar Vista High School batting cage and the purchase of an Iron Mike top-of-the-line pitching machine, according to JV baseball Coach Chris White.

Additionally, White hopes to redo the bullpen at the MVHS field to prevent pestilent squirrels from burrowing under the pitching mounds, literally undermining pitchers as they warm up.

The squirrels have done so much damage that White worries that “a kid is going to go after a foul ball in the infield and end up blowing their knee out.”

White, however, does attribute one Mariners' win to the school's resident squirrels.

According to White, the Mariners were leading by two against Francis Parker in the 9th, with runners on first and third. A hit to right center field would have sent the first-base runner home to tie the game. But when the ball rolled down a squirrel hole, he was held at third on a ground rule double. The next batter struck out, and the Mariners won.

Regardless of the squirrels' unintentional contribution to a Mariner win, the animals are not welcome underfoot, and the next fundraiser will be held May 17 at Boll Weevil.