Members of a local youth baseball team traded their bats for rakes and their leather mitts for work gloves as they spent Sunday afternoon doing volunteer yardwork for two ladies in need of some assistance.

Eleven players from the 11U Blue Wildcats, a federation baseball team, and a handful of coaches raked leaves, swept porches, moved bricks, pulled weeds and cleared debris in the yards of Eudoria Darocha, who lives on Cantley St. in Lakeville, and Kitty Nedervelt, a senior citizen who lives on Spezia Dr. in Oxford Township.

“It is such an amazing blessing,” said Darocha, who’s lived on Lakeville Lake for 19 years and attends Christ the King Church in Oxford. “I am so thankful. It is so much help.”

Earlier this year, Darocha lost her husband Leo. They were married for 24 years and he used to handle the yard.

All the work done by the players and coaches lifted a huge weight off of Darocha’s shoulders.

“I couldn’t believe it. It answered my prayers,” she said. “I couldn’t do all this. It would have taken me a whole summer.”

According to Head Coach Mike Keene, this was a way for the players to give back to the community that’s been so incredibly supportive of them.

“We get a decent amount of sponsorships from the businesses here in Oxford,” he said. “We give them a plaque and we put their names up on the banner that we hang at every game. But I thought we could really honor them by doing something like this.”

The team’s 2016 sponsors are RosenClark Corporate Creativity, 24th Street Sports Tavern, Electrical Systems INC, Jim Bailey/REMAX Encore, Skalnek Ford, Domino’s, Jersey Mike’s, Oxford Kitchen, ‘Wiches, Buffalo Wild Wings and Jet’s Pizza Oxford.

When Keene pitched this idea to his team, he said, “They were all in.”

“It’s quite an opportunity,” Keene said. “This is a way for us (to show the kids) there are things more important than baseball. It also builds camaraderie amongst (the players).”

“I think (community service) makes a well-rounded individual,” Darocha noted.