Thousand Oaks and Westlake high schools are fierce rivals on the field.

Now they’re showing what it means to be good sports off the field.

The schools’ softball teams and the Lancer baseball squad are joining forces to raise money for breast cancer research during the Hit 4 Hope fundraiser on Sat., Feb. 6 at the Boost Your Average indoor batting cages at 2326 Townsgate Road in Westlake.

“Normally, when you think of fundraisers, you think of carwashes,” said junior Alysha Payne, 16, a second baseman for the Thousand Oaks softball team. “We became passionate about this project.

“On the softball field, you kind of get tunnel vision. You think, ‘Okay, this is my job and I want to win.’ This is about setting aside our differences and saying, ‘Hey, let’s come together to fight breast cancer.’ This is something bigger than us.”

Players are collecting pledges from the community for time spent hitting in the cages. The tentative plan is for players to hit from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the public is welcome to attend.

Bryan Gagnon, who owns Boost Your Average, donated the facility for the day. Jack Lucas, the father of one of the players, has helped organize the event and also made a financial contribution through his company, Bownet, which manufactures portable sports nets.

Some of the proceeds will also benefit the softball teams.

Payne and TOHS teammate Leah Lucas came up with Hit 4 Hope while driving on a Saturday morning last September to a tournament in Hemet.

Their conversation turned to fundraising for the softball team, but the discussion quickly evolved.

“Alysha and my daughter started talking: ‘What we can do and what can we give back to people who have been so good to us?’” said Jack Lucas, who was driving the girls to the SoCal Diamonds travel team tournament.

“They said something about breast cancer. I said that’s a great idea. Pursue it.”

Leah Lucas and Payne were shocked to learn that one in eight women will get breast cancer in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.

They then thought how—with those frightening odds—one or two of their teammates could eventually contract the ailment.

“That started to hit home for them,” Jack Lucas said.

Thousand Oaks softball coach Gary Walin jumped at the chance to be a part of this fundraiser.

“We’re excited about doing it,” said Walin, who is entering his 17th season guiding the Lancers.

“We hope it’s a success because we want to keep doing it.”

Walin hopes more schools and teams will get involved in future events.

“Next year we want to get Newbury Park involved,” the skipper said. “We want all the baseball and softball teams involved with it next October.”

If Hit 4 Hope is a grand slam, then the next fundraiser will likely occur in October, which coincides with National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Westlake softball head coach Lynn Baum is also enthused about participating in the event. Baum spent 10 seasons coaching at Thousand Oaks.

“The kids will give back to the community and give back to cancer research,” said Baum, who enters her sixth season with the Warriors after spending four years guiding Newbury Park.

“They’ll learn that there’s more to life than themselves. . . . It brings awareness about breast cancer. We need to continue fighting all the time and have the kids become aware of that.”

Thousand Oaks baseball coach Jim Stueve said all proceeds his players collect will go entirely to charity.

“The community does so much for us, this is a good way to give back and say thank you,” Stueve said. “We don’t need to get anything out of it.

“We’re grateful for the softball coaches for including us. Hopefully, we’ll raise a lot of money.”

The fundraiser is also meaningful for Gagnon. His wife, Cheryl, is a breast cancer survivor.

“This is near and dear to my heart,” Gagnon said. “This is a great idea. If we could do this annually, I’d love to do that.”

For more information, visit www.hit4hope.com.