A scary moment during a Little League regional tournament in Waco, Texas on Tuesday turned into an inspiring display of sportsmanship after a player hit by a pitch comforted the pitcher who hit him.
Pitcher Kaiden Shelton, of Pearland, Texas, was facing batter Isaiah Jarvis of Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he lost control of the ball and hit Jarvis' helmet at the Little League Southwest Regional Playoff final. Jarvis fell to the ground and held his head as coaches rushed to check on him.
Moments later, Jarvis was cleared and walked to first base. However, Shelton was still shaken up and began to cry.
Seeing the distraught pitcher, Jarvis walked toward the mound and hugged Shelton. He told him, "Hey, you're doing great. Let's go."
After getting hit in the head with a pitch, this little leaguer showed a true act of sportsmanship by comforting the pitcher 🥲 pic.twitter.com/AbzXaLL5uz
— ESPN (@espn) August 9, 2022
The gesture was applauded in the ballpark and online, where many hailed it as a true moment of sportsmanship.
Jarvis told CBS News that if he was in Shelton's shoes he "would be pretty scared, too."
"If you're throwing hard and you just hit somebody in the head, it's got to be a scary thing," he said. "So, I just wanted to go over there and make sure he was all right. Make sure he knows that I'm all right. And really just encourage him."
Pearland beat Tulsa 9-4 and advanced to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
