Pitcher ends game with strikeout, then hugs batter: 'Our friendship is more important'

You may tire of hearing this, but fans really never know what they'll see at a game.

Normally, that means great athletic performance, but last Wednesday at a high school baseball game in Minnesota, it was an act of sportsmanship.

According to BringMeTheNews.com, Mounds View won a section championship game when Ty Koehn struck out Totino-Grace's Jack Kocon. That earned Mounds View a trip to state and most of the players celebrated on the field.

The lone exception: Koehn, who went straight from the mound to the plate and hugged Kocon.

The high schools are located just north of Minneapolis and BringMeTheNews noted that players from the two high schools have spent time together on an area youth baseball team.

"I knew the game was going to keep going or it was going to end right there," Koehn told BringMeTheNews. "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."

After the hug, Koehn joined his teammates in celebration. Here is another look at the moment:

This story was originally published June 11, 2018 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Pitcher ends game with strikeout, then hugs batter: 'Our friendship is more important'."