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A True Act of Sportsmanship

HS baseball team

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Last week, baseball fans in Minnesota witnessed a high school game that displayed an act of kindness that is rare in sports today.

The game was Totino-Grace vs Mounds View – the winner advancing to the Class 4A state baseball tournament.

Mounds View Pitcher Ty Koehn struck out Totino-Grace batter Jack Kocon for the final out in the game, sending Mounds View High School to the state championships.

It was what happened after the strike out that has the sports world talking…

When consoling a childhood friend is a little more important than immediately celebrating a trip to the state championship.

(via @bringmethenews) pic.twitter.com/BSlbXMKrC2

— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 11, 2018

Instead of celebrating with his teammates, Koehn immediately approached home plate and gave a heartwarming hug to the batter Kocon.

The two grew up as childhood friends, and even though they now play for different schools – the friendship and respect between the two hasn’t changed.

Nate Wek is currently the sports content producer and sports and rec beat reporter for South Dakota Public Broadcasting. He is a graduate of South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism Broadcasting and a minor in Leadership. From 2010-2013 Nate was the Director of Gameday Media for the Sioux Falls Storm (Indoor Football League) football team. He also spent 2012 and 2013 as the News and Sports Director of KSDJ Radio in Brookings, SD. Nate, his wife Sarah, and three sons, Braxan, Jordy, and Anders live in Canton, SD.