Rogers High School softball receives grant for equipment from Seattle Mariners

From staff reports

The Seattle Mariners on Friday announced 10 recipients of their annual $50,000 Mariners Care Equipment Donation Grant to support high school baseball and softball programs in Washington and Oregon.

Rogers High School was one of the recipients .

Rogers plans to invest in basic safety gear including helmets, catcher’s gear and protective pitching screens, along with shared equipment like bats, to help its softball program better compete against other programs it faces in the Greater Spokane League 2A division.

Each grantee represents “a diverse cross section of the Pacific Northwest and have intentionally built programs to support the unique needs of the student athletes in their communities,” according to the Mariners’ news release.

The grants are designed to help ease the pressure on struggling baseball and softball programs, as well as help ensure the game remains accessible to any student athlete who wants to participate.

Other grant recipients included Chiawana High School baseball in Pasco.

The Equipment Donation Grant was first awarded in 2017 to programs at the high school level in Washington and was expanded to include Oregon in 2020.

Each year, the grant is divided equally among the recipients. Since 2017, $350,000 has been awarded to high school baseball and softball programs.

The initiative is part of the On BASE (Baseball And Softball Everywhere) initiative, a strategic effort by the Mariners to leverage new and existing partnerships to break down barriers that may prevent children from participating in baseball and softball, either because of high registration fees, lack of equipment, and/or access to playable fields.