The Millersville University baseball team is not only producing wins on the field, but off the field as well. Members on the team are credited with saving the life of a one-year-old Johnstown boy last week.
Shortly after arriving in Johnstown for a tournament early Wednesday morning, a group of players were walking to a convenience store to get a snack, and spotted Shane and Megan Norman screaming for help, their baby boy Braydin in their arms.
“We saw them pull out the child and they were screaming he was choking, so we went over,” said first baseman Dan Stoltzfus. “Tyler McDonald, knew, was certified in CPR. He went through the stages of CPR, they propped its head up and Zach Stone was holding onto the baby’s hand and after a while started squeezing it when it got responsive again. And the rest of us were just trying to keep the parents calm.”
Eventually, Braydin’s eyes opened.
“That was a really big relief for us,” Stoltzfus said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen at all.”
But that wouldn’t be the last the team saw of the Norman family. They actually showed up in the stands at two of the team’s baseball games.
“They sat in the rain, and watched the game for four hours and just cheered the team on,” said Jon Shehan, Millersville baseball coach. “They were even arguing with umpires at one point. They were excited to be there and appreciative of the team.”
A neon yellow Millersville baseball bracelet, that second baseman Tyler Thomas put around the baby’s wrist before leaving, is how the Normans’ uncovered their child’s guardian angels.
“I slipped it on his wrist and said, ‘Hey buddy, remember us. You’re our motivation,'” Thomas said. “I was hoping that, in a sense, that that bracelet would kind of help them find us and sure enough it did. We saw them at the game and it was a great feeling.”
Braydin is doing just fine. Members of the team are continuing to keep in touch with the Normans.