9 Year-old Boy Dies After Being Struck by Practice Swing
A 9 year-old bat boy for a Kansas amateur baseball team died Sunday, a day after he was struck on the head by an errant practice swing during a game.
“With the permission of the family, and with much sorrow and a very broken heart, I regretfully inform everyone that Kaiser Carlile passed away earlier this evening. Please keep his family and our team in your thoughts and prayers,” read a statement announcing the boy’s death on the Facebook page of the Liberal Bee Jays of Liberal, Kan.
Team general manager Mike Carlile told the Wichita Eagle that the Bee Jay players were made aware of Kaiser’s death before their game in the National Baseball Congress World Series. The team won 8-0 over a team from Haysville, Kan. to advance to the semifinals of the winner’s bracket.
“No one wrote us a book to tell us how to do this. We’re just dealing with it the best way we know how and that’s to keep coming out and keep honoring Kaiser on the field.” Mike Carlile said. According to the Eagle, Kaiser Carlile was the son of Mike’s cousin.
Kasier was injured near the on-deck circle during Saturday’s game, a 13-5 Liberal win over a team from San Diego. The Eagle reported that he was initially treated by the home plate umpire, an experienced paramedic, before being rushed to Via Christi-St. Francis Hospital in Wichita. A spokesman for the National Baseball Congress told the paper Kaiser was wearing a helmet, which is mandatory for all teams.
Mike Carlile said Kaiser’s parents traveled to Wichita for Sunday’s game and met with the players after their win.
“It is such an unfortunate accident and all we can do is be strong for the family,” Bee Jays manager Adam Anderson said. “That’s all they wanted us to do was go out there and play a good baseball game and that’s what we did.”