Homers for Hope Yankees, a volunteer baseball team that fundraises for charitable causes, will take to the field at the Joseph E. Hanusey III Community Park, Doylestown, on May 16. 

Sports-wise, their foe is the Montco Phillies. 

But the real opponent here is cancer. 

Every Yankee is on a season-long drive to raise money for nine-year-old Reagan Rutenberg, a Leukemia patient. 

Rutenberg will be guest of honor at the game. She’ll get an official jersey and throw the first pitch. 

Her mother, Shari, will receive relief. She’ll learn exactly how much financial assistance the players raised to help her. 

In January, Shari Rutenberg, a single mother, took Reagan to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for surgery and chemotherapy. But she’s not a rookie when it comes to navigating CHOP. She’s been taking her son there for a decade as he fights childhood diabetes. 

This second family health setback devastated the Rutenberg finances. Shari’s schedule swamped her ability to maintain her housecleaning job. So she left it to care for her daughter. Her financial freefall is now months old. 

But her faith is strong. And Reagan’s outlook is steely as well. Her treatments haven’t dimmed her smile or her spirit. 

The May 16, 10 a.m. game is open to the public. The field is at 4757 Gordon Road in Doylestown. 

More information on Homers for Hope is online.