Batting cleanup

CELINA - Grand Lake Mariners Head Coach Damon Haecker can see the havoc wreaked by last week's EF3 tornado in Celina from the porch of Dave and Gwen Howell's home.

"Our house is literally one block from where the tornado hit," said Haecker, who stays at the residence with his assistant coaches. "So obviously, from our front porch you can see how devastating it is."

The Mariners decided to do something about it.

On Monday, 20 members of the Mariners summer collegiate baseball organization assisted in tornado cleanup efforts at Wendy and Tony Knapke's home on Fairground Road.

Haecker, Grand Lake Mariners General Manager John Dorner and President Bill Montgomery hatched the idea. As chairman, president and chief executive officer of Celina Insurance Group, Montgomery had communications manager Sara Harlamert coordinate with Celina Mayor Jeff Hazel to find a site where the Mariners could best serve.

"I just thought it's a quick way to become a part of the community and understand what we're going through," Dorner said.

"We wanted to help out," Haecker added. "It's obviously devastating. I've been through a few of those tornadoes. I know how devastating it can be, as well as hurricanes. They were all really receptive. I've got a few guys from the south that have had houses in hurricanes and a few kids from Oklahoma who have been through tornadoes as well. Everybody was willing, and everybody kind of helped volunteer."

Cumberland County College's Donnie Stone, originally from Mays Landing, New Jersey, was one of those team members Haecker mentioned who has seen the destructive power of Mother Nature firsthand.

"I'm from New Jersey, so I was there when Hurricane Sandy hit," Stone said. "It was a lot like this."

After practice on Monday, Mariners team members spent nearly two hours cleaning up debris at the Knapke home, which was in complete shambles, Stone said.

"We moved everything from broken couches to a whole garage door. The front door was almost completely folded in half," Stone said. "It was everything.

"The whole garage was gone," he continued, "and the living room had no walls left on it, so it was completely blown out."

They were glad to do help, said New Bremen graduate, Ohio State first baseman and current Mariner Luke Vonderhaar.

Vonderhaar moved to New Bremen from Georgia midway through high school, and he quickly noticed how much this area rallies together when tragedy strikes.

"This area is one big family," said Vonderhaar, who redshirted this year at Ohio State. "I haven't been here for a long period of time. It's going on three years now. But when stuff like that happens, everybody does really come together. I know when it happened, (Ohio State pitcher) Seth Lonsway reached out to give his support because he's from Celina. Getting support from a lot of places is always good, and we were happy to help."

Find links to all other tornado coverage on this page including stories, map, albums and video.