Kaiser Carlile, 9-Year-Old Bat Boy, Dies After Being Struck by Bat

— -- A 9-year-old bat boy for a Kansas baseball team died Sunday, one day after he was accidentally struck by a bat during a game.

Kaiser Carlile, the bat boy for the Liberal Bee Jays summer team in Liberal, Kansas, was struck in the head as a player took practice swings during Saturday’s game against the San Diego Waves. Carlile was wearing a helmet.

He was hospitalized in critical condition after being struck by the bat.

“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,” team president Nathan McCaffrey wrote in a statement. “Please keep his family and our team in your thoughts and prayers. Thank you all for the support during this ordeal.”

Kadon Simmons, a player on the team, referred to Carlile as "a little brother I never had" in an Instagram post.

"No person or team could ask for a better bat boy," Simmons wrote. "It is terrible to see you leave in such a way, but knowing your last moments were on the baseball field makes it easier through this whole process, because you were doing what you loved."

The Liberal Bee Jays play in the Jayhawk Baseball League, a summer league for college players.