A Minnesota high school pitcher consoled his friend after striking him out in a playoff game.
Mounds View pitcher Ty Koehn struck out Jack Kocon of Totino-Grace to end the game in the Class 4A, Section 5 baseball final last week. The win touched off a celebration near home plate as Mounds View advanced to the state tournament.
But before joining his teammates in the celebration, Koehn consoled Kocon at home plate. Koehn was seen on video giving his friend a long hug and walking him back toward his dugout before joining the celebration.
"I knew the game was going to keep going, or it was going to end right there," Koehn told Bring Me The News. "I knew I had to say something. Our friendship is more important than just the silly outcome of a game. I had to make sure he knew that before we celebrated.
"It was more instinct. It just felt right."
BMTN reported that many of the Mounds View and Totino-Grace players know each other from playing in the Shoreview Area Youth Baseball league going back to their Little League days.
"We are very close friends," Koehn told BMTN. "I knew him from all the way back when we were 13. We were on the same little league team. It was tough when we went to separate schools, but we kept in touch."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.