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Baseball families step up to the plate to help fire victims

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Families are stepping up to the plate to help two boys who lost their home in a fire.

Alex Snider, 18,  and his brother Jacob, 16, have dealt with tragedy before.

Thankfully, their school and the baseball team they play for are rallying behind them at a time when they need it most.

On the field, varsity head coach Phil McIntyre said his team feels at home.

“It’s a family atmosphere,” said McIntyre. “Finding out the news this morning about Alex and Jacob Snider, about their home just is absolutely a tragedy,” he said.

The home where the brothers lived caught fire last night. Luckily nobody was hurt. It has only added to what’s been a tough year for them. Last year, their father who was a snow plow driver, was killed in a crash while working.

“Their father was an amazing gentleman in this program,” McIntyre said. “He did all our fields in the summer time.”

Jacob took the field and Alex was in the dugout, a presence their teammates were glad to have.

“We’re just playing this game for (Alex) and playing this whole season for him because he means so much to us,” said teammate Alan Lozer. “We just got his back and we got to show him today.”

Donations to help the brothers were being collected during the game. The boys lived with their aunt, Christina Snider. She was also at the game and couldn’t believe how quickly the fundraiser was assembled.

“It’s a blessing I mean that’s all I can really say. It’s very humbling on how much people want to help and appreciate from the whole baseball association for even doing this,” Snider said. “Baseball is life and it’s a family.”

“We haven’t been teammates. We haven’t been classmates. We’ve been brothers,” said Lozer. “And if one thing happens to one of our brothers, it happens to all of us and we feel it all throughout the program from the players to the coaches, we all feel it. We’re going to do whatever we can to have (Alex’s) back and pick him up.”

For those who couldn’t make it to the game but still want to help, a scholarship fund has been set up for the brothers at Chase Bank, under the name Alex Snider.

Donations are also being collected at the athletic office at North Central High School.