Photo Provided The Ohio Valley Jokers Baseball Club is raising funds for travel expenses and a trip to Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York through a sportsman’s bash on March 29, where people could win a gun.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Young baseball players will get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Cooperstown Dreams Park this summer, and they are seeking help to raise funds for the trip.

The Ohio Valley Jokers Baseball Club — a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a competitive baseball program to Ohio Valley children between 8 and 12 years old — will be having a sportsman’s bash this month to raise money to cover travel expenses, including those of parents, to visit Cooperstown Dreams Park this summer.

The organization said its mission is “to provide athletic training and educational benefits through character development and sportsmanship in a highly competitive sports environment.”

The nonprofit is 100% funded through sponsorships and donations and is a 100% volunteer organization.

The sportsman’s bash will be from 3-9 p.m. March 29 at the Carnes Center, 45300 Roscoe Road, St. Clairsville. The bash will cost $50 to enter, which covers a dinner from Figaretti’s of pasta and chicken and one entry to win a gun.

There will also be additional raffles and prizes at the end of the evening. The guns to be raffled off are supplied by Bridgeport Equipment and Tool.

“The goal is to help offset costs for those parents that are unable to afford travel baseball,” group President Mike Mistovich said. “It helps with us bringing trainers and to develop the kids. It also helps to support uniforms and to support tournament fees, umpire fees, any types of facility fees that we run into.”

The club is also raising money for the two teams of 12-year-olds that will be playing at Cooperstown Dreams Park in New York this summer, with one team making a trip at the end of June and the other at the end of July.

Mistovich said each team controls how much money they make, meaning the more tickets the team sells, the more profit they get from the bash.

It costs $1,600 per child to play at Cooperstown Dreams Park during a week-long event that players will spend with more than 100 teams at the tournament.

The organization has 12 youth travel baseball teams. The teams are composed of players from the Ohio Valley, but the club has expanded into other teams, such as two national teams that have players from Indiana and Michigan. The organization plays baseball all over the country.

Players practice at The Highlands Sports Complex in Triadelphia every Wednesday evening and at the Tunnel Green field in Wheeling.

Mistovich said the whole purpose of the organizations is to help develop and teach children the game of baseball. The club’s other focus is to take players who are 13 and older and continue to develop skills that may help them get a college scholarship, whether that’s Division I, II or III, and continue getting them exposure outside of the Ohio Valley.

People can also donate without coming to the event by becoming a sponsor for the teams. Call Mistovich at 304-238-6186 for more information.

“We are a 501(c)(3), and if you come out to this event, we can utilize these funds to help continue with the development of these kids and in helping them improve their baseball IQs and in their baseball games,” Mistovich said.