On the afternoon of Feb. 4, dressed in bright yellow T-shirts, a color which symbolizes enthusiasm, a group of Salisbury High School baseball players walked around the Salisbury Middle School cafeteria selling 50/50 tickets.

Known as the “Bingo Squad,” they were catering to their fan base, the nearly 300 Salisbury Township residents who came out to show them support and enjoy a friendly game of bingo in SMS’s cafeteria.

With a mad last-minute rush from friends and neighbors to get more playing cards and food before the games began, three young players looked in awe at the support for them and their teammates.

“It’s pretty nice. It’s nice to know we have support for our team, for our community. And I think that these people are going to have a nice day with the bingo,” Dominic Garcia said just before the afternoon of games started.

Another player, Alex Lees, made the point, “It’s great that our whole community is a part of this, and we can make some money to fund things, with fun activities and everyone having a good time.”

According to their teammate Garrett Leiner, funds raised at the second annual baseball bingo will help them get better equipment.

Getting the junior varsity and varsity baseball teams better equipment has been a priority the last couple of years. This year, they received a special gift: a new scoreboard on behalf of Dr. Stephen Kulik, the Allentown Chiropractor Center PC and St. Luke’s University Health Network.

Giving back to the community was important to the Kulik family, and with personal connections to the high school and baseball team, this seemed the best fit, according to Dr. Tamara Kulik-Smarch, a graduate of Salisbury High School herself.

When her son Aiden joined the team, she and her father went to a game and noticed the scoreboard wasn’t working.

“I asked the coaches did you ever get a quote or does anyone want to have a quote? They gave me a price. We decided that we would do that amount,” she explained.

St. Luke’s University Health Network joined in at that point.

As a baseball mom, Kulik-Smarch “feels proud” about being part of a community that gives back to its members.

It is a sentiment shared by Salisbury Booster Club secretary and fellow baseball mom Cathy Spisszak who looked at the room and said, “I have goose bumps. It’s parents of current players, it’s parents of players who have already graduated, it’s parents of players who are in middle school, there are school board members here, there’s a woman from East Stroudsburg who drove here. Just to see how much hard work we’ve put into this and how many people came.”

Spisszak and Tricia Dickert spent months working on securing gift baskets and other donations to make the day a success. They had help from a number of volunteers, including the high school’s basketball team.

“I think it means a lot. They (bingo players) are all coming out to support the baseball team. I think it speaks about this whole community and how everyone is just coming together to support the team,” Thomas Lovelidge said.

Dennis Henninger III added, “I believe that a lot of people don’t really think that Salisbury is a big community or people don’t see Salisbury as a good community, but I think Salisbury is a great community.”

He went on to say, “A lot of people care about us, and it means a lot to us.”

Reflecting on how the afternoon went, Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach T C Cunningham said, “It’s amazing to see our community come together and support the high school, the boys and the baseball team. We’re looking forward to a great upcoming season.”