Tragedy struck at the National Baseball Congress World Series when a 9-year-old bat boy died after being hit in the head with a bat.
Kaiser Carlile, a bat boy for the summer collegiate team the Liberal Bee Jays, was retrieving a bat in the second inning Saturday when he was struck by a follow-through swing in the on-deck circle, according to multiple reports. He was wearing a helmet, and home plate umpire and paramedic Mark Goldfeder treated the boy until an ambulance arrived.
Kaiser’s family asked the team to continue its series, which it did by advancing to the semifinals with an 8-0 victory Sunday. Kaiser’s parents met with the players after the win, per The Wichita Eagle.
“It is such an unfortunate accident and all we can do is be strong for the family,” Liberal manager Adam Anderson told the Eagle. “That’s all they wanted us to do was go out there and play a good baseball game and that’s what we did.”
The National Baseball Congress has since suspended the use of bat boys for the rest of the series.
Thumbnail photo via Facebook/Liberal Bee Jays
