The emotions didn’t stop flowing after a viral moment in the Little League World Series on Tuesday.
After Isaiah Jarvis of Oklahoma was hit on the head with an errant pitch by Kaiden “Bubs” Shelton of Texas East, Jarvis comforted the pitcher in a heartwarming moment that made the rounds on social media. Oklahoma head coach Sean Kouplen, who spoke to The Athletic after the game, said that the special experience didn’t stop on the mound.
“We didn’t realize this was going to go viral,” Kouplen said. “Afterwards, I told them that that is so much bigger than winning a baseball game. I told them that’s what our world needs. It needs to put people above differences and above competitiveness. To say it was a special moment would be the understatement of my life.”
It was an emotional day for Kouplen, the players’ parents, and everyone in attendance. ESPN showed shots of spectators in tears. Kouplen admitted he was “crying like a baby” in the dugout.
The video of Jarvis racked up over 1.5 million views, and even after losing 9-4 to Texas East and packing up for the trip home, Kouplen still had trouble holding back his emotions.
Texas East now advances in the Little League World Series after beating Oklahoma. Still, there are no hard feelings from Jarvis and his team, and they will be rooting for Texas East from back home.
“I’m a good person before a good player. I know other people come first,” Jarvis said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a baseball game and we’re out there having fun. It’s good to be competitive but you can’t have hard feelings about things.”