Ben Springer tested positive for COVID-19 back in July.

"By the time he actually made it to Kearney and actually made it on the ventilator, they told me his body had already fought the virus off and now he's dealing with the after effects of the virus which was the damaged lungs," said his wife, Nicole Springer.

And she said the road to recovery hasn't been easy.

"He's still on oxygen, as you can see," she said.

But right when his family needed help the most, the Indianola Baseball League decided to pitch in and fundraise to help cover any medical bills. Leader in the group, Tyler Kennedy, said it was an easy decision to pick Ben.

"Everyone just agreed, our whole group is a group of friends, we're all similar age and we're all friends with Ben and Nicole, so it was just kind of an understood thing that we were going to do it for them," said Kennedy.

Every year the league chooses one person to raise money for. But President of the league, Kyle Teel, said it was especially nice to help the Springers.

"Ben and Nicole are active in the community, they do a ton for the community, they shop local, they participate in the softball league, their kids play in the league, they go to school nearby so it was a perfect fit to do something for those guys," said Teel.

They ended up raising a total of $20,000, from ticket sales to a pancake breakfast, Teel and Kennedy said this was the largest amount of money they've ever raised.

"We've doubled more than we generally would," said Teel.

And Springer said it was more than he ever could have imagined receiving.

"Like I told them when I got the check, it was kind of bittersweet, I was recovering from COVID and was in pretty tough shape but seeing the community rally behind us was a pretty big deal, it was pretty neat to see," said Springer.