Bishop Kelley Baseball Team Helps Family Of Coach Hit By Tornado

The Bishop Kelley baseball team is helping a Rogers County storm victim with the tough job of cleaning up.

The house sits on top of a hill and was one of the hardest hit in the neighborhood.

It belongs to one of the team coach’s elderly in laws; so when it came down to pitch in, the team was all in.

"Nobody wants to ever have this happen, so it's good to have people behind your back and be there for you," said Bishop Kelley third baseman, Philip Scott.

The house belongs to Richard and Sandra Swan. When the tornado touched down, the couple - in their 80s - hid in the basement. When they came out, they saw the family home of 46 years in ruin.

Special Coverage: Tornado Outbreak: March 30, 3016

Coach Mark Redman said, "My wife was born and raised here; and when we turned this corner the other night she broke down in tears."

Redman is doing what he can to clear the place, and he's getting a little help from his team and fellow coaches.

"I think this is the first time any of them have ever seen or been close up after a tornado, and it just…how the bus got quiet and everyone says ‘Oh my goodness. How do people survive that,’” head coach Brian Begnel said.

When the rest of the staff, team and school found out about the damage, they immediately jumped on board to help out - carrying out furniture and picking up fallen bricks and doing whatever else was needed.

Redman said, "It's just the epitome of team spirit. And having the team pulling together not only on the field but off the field in a crisis, and it means a lot to me as a coach."

The family said the house was damage so badly there's no repairing it. They'll have to tear it down and build again.

For now they are trying to salvage what they can.