Boy, 9, hospitalized after being hit in head during baseball game in Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. -- A 9-year-old bat boy is hospitalized after being hit in the head during a National Baseball Congress World Series game.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the boy was struck by a follow-through swing near the on-deck circle on Saturday afternoon. A spokesman for the National Baseball Congress says the child was wearing a helmet, which is mandatory.

Home-plate umpire Mark Goldfeder, who is a longtime paramedic, treated the boy until an ambulance arrived. The boy was taken to a local hospital and was in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon.

The boy was a bat boy for the Liberal Bee Jays. The team's general manager Mike Carlile identified the boy as Kaiser Carlile.