A 9-year-old batboy remains in critical condition after being hit with a bat during a Saturday baseball game, according to officials at Via Christi Hospital St. Francis in Wichita, Kansas.
Kaiser Carlile was inadvertently struck by a bat during a National Baseball Congress World Series game.
Carlile has been the Liberal Bee Jays’ only batboy this summer, team president Nathan McCaffrey said. The Liberal Bee Jays is a summer league baseball team for college players. “He was a part of the team,” McCaffrey said in a statement.
McCaffrey, who was at the game, said one of his team’s batters accidentally hit Carlile during a warmup swing as the boy was retrieving a bat that had just been used. He said he heard the bat collide with Carlile, who was wearing a helmet. Carlile took three or four steps before he fell as the team rushed to him.
“Just to see him fall, that’s what crushes you,” said McCaffrey. He said the team wanted to go to the hospital, but the family asked that they not do so.
“I have heard he is still hanging in there,” McCaffrey said, adding that it is, “understandable not to want to have 25 guys there when it is so emotional.”
The hospital could not provide any other details about Carlile’s condition or treatment.
The Bee Jays went on to win the emotional game over the San Diego Waves 12-5 in 13 innings. The National Baseball Congress released a statement calling the incident “an unfortunate and tragic accident. One that saddens us all.”