Vandals left graffiti on one of the dugout walls at the Center Township Athletic Association baseball complex. They also broke into four of the facility's buildings, carved racial and homophobic slurs into wooden picnic tables, and pillaged food from the concession stand.

CENTER TWP — Allen Hoehn found a disturbing scene when he delivered fertilizer Wednesday afternoon to the Center Township Athletic Association baseball complex.

Vandals had broken into four of the facility's buildings, carved racial and homophobic slurs into wooden picnic tables, painted obscenities on buildings, pillaged food from the concession stand and removed equipment from a storage shed to hit a bucket of baseballs.

There also was a name scrawled in paint on the floor of one of the buildings.

State police are investigating.

Terry Chappla, former Center Township Athletic Association president, said the vandalism took place sometime between Sunday and Wednesday.

“They were there for a while,” Chappla said.

Hoehn, who is the field director for the association, said problems like this are an all-too-common occurrence at the fields.

“The sad part is it's not a shock anymore,” Hoehn said. “At least once a year all the Port-A-Johns get knocked over.”

This incident is different, however, because of the extent of the vandalism.

“This is the third break-in in the last couple of years,” said Carl Ekas, Center Township Athletic Association president. “This is the worst.”

Ekas said the organization's only recourse is to install security cameras.

Chappla said the only item missing is some food from the concession stand.

“They ate 25 icies,” Chappla said. “Quite frankly, that food was from last year.”

Hoehn said the association will begin the cleanup as soon as it can.

It's nothing they haven't done before, he said.

“It's just become a pain,” Hoehn said. “We're a volunteer organization, and this is something we shouldn't have to be doing.”