9-year-old Kansas bat boy remembered by players and coaches

WICHITA, Kan. -- Players and coaches remembered Kaiser Carlile, the 9-year-old bat boy who died after being hit in the head by a bat, for his winning attitude and big smile during a press conference on Monday.

"He was as much as part of the team as anybody else was," said one coach.

Kaiser died after he was accidentally hit in the head by a practice swing by an on-deck hitter at the National Baseball Congress World Series game on Saturday. He later died from his injuries.

Members of the team sat in the front of the room during the press conference and later spoke about Kaiser fondly. Some broke down in tears as they remembered the 9-year-old boy.

"He became a brother to many of us in a short few weeks," said outfielder Gavin Wehby.

Wehby said Kaiser always did his job 110 percent, was a hard worker and made the dugout a fun place to be.

The Bee Jays, of Liberal, in southwest Kansas, announced Kaiser Carlile's death on their Facebook page on Sunday evening. "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. Thank you all for the support during this ordeal!" said the team's president, Nathan McCaffrey.

Witnesses told CBS affiliate KWCH-TV Kaiser was running to retrieve a bat on the ground near the on-deck hitter, who didn't notice him accidentally hit him on the head with a practice swing in Wichita's Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Kaiser was wearing a helmet, as the league requires.

"Right before he fell, the umpire and the base player both rushed up and caught him before he hit the ground," witness Malachi Lingg told the station. "They caught him and just set him on the ground, and they all clustered around him quickly. It was really silent. Everybody was quiet."

Home-plate umpire Mark Goldfeder, a longtime paramedic, treated Kaiser until the ambulance arrived.

Meanwhile, the NBC Tournament has suspended the use of bat boys and girls, reports CBS affiliate KWCH.

The team prayed together after learning Kaiser had died:

A GoFundMe page setup by the Liberal Bee Jays to help the family cover medical expenses has so far raised over $28,000.

Hurts Donuts, a restaurant in Wichita, began a fundraiser for Kaiser's family as well. On their Facebook page they posted that 100 percent of the proceeds from their baseball donut sales would go to the Carlile family.

On Instagram a player posted his thoughts, saying, "Kaiser, you were a little brother I never had. You took the field with us every game this summer. You were, and always will be a Bee Jay. No person or team could ask for a better bat boy. 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. It hurts to see someone so young and with so much heart pass like you did, but you are now in God's hands, and being the bat boy for the angels up above. We all love you, and you will be greatly missed. R.I.P. Kaiser Carlile."

During the press conference coaches said they are going to honor the little boy in every way they can. They are ordering t-shirts with "KC" on them and are already wearing wristbands with his initials as well.