Washington Nationals Give Girl Gift After Adult Fan Nabs Her Ball

The Washington Nationals baseball team is cheering up a 10-year-old girl whose moment of glory — catching a baseball thrown by right-fielder Joey Meneses — was thwarted by an aggressive fan.

"Grown man steals baseball from little girl," Virginia mom Gina Hilliard tweeted on Sept. 1, sharing a video of the Aug. 30 game in which the Nationals defeated the Oakland Athletics 7-5 at Washington, D.C.'s Nationals Park.

"Can you get Joey Meneses to sign a baseball and send it to my daughter?" she added.

Hilliard recorded her daughter Avery wearing a baseball mitt with her arm extended in the air, ready to catch Meneses' pitch during warm-up practice. Just then, an adult fan swooped in and caught the ball instead.

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Avery is a Shenandoah Recreation League softball player whose team was among those invited to the game on Youth Champions Day, hosted by the Washington Nationals to honor young players.

A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals told TODAY Parents that the youth teams were recognized on the field prior to the game.

Hilliard, who was ready with her camera to record Avery's catch, was "in shock" over what the man did, telling TODAY Parents, "It was hard to hold back — I wanted to defend her but I didn’t want it to escalate."

Avery and her teammates were confused and disappointed — especially when they heard the man's explanation.

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"One of the girls' dads went over to talk to the guy and he had no remorse at all," Hilliard said. "He said he bought his ticket to the game and he had a right to (catch the ball)."

On Sept. 6, the Washington Nationals tweeted back to Hilliard, "Hey Gina! Mind giving us a follow and we'll send you a DM?"

A spokesperson from the Washington Nationals told TODAY Parents that a signed ball from Meneses is on its way to Avery.

Hilliard said the girls still treasured their day, which for some marked their first visit to the stadium or their first Metro ride. "They had a wonderful time — that's truly the takeaway — and while the incident was unfortunate, the ending is (not)," Hilliard said.

Avery and her mom aren't bitter toward the fan, either. "We don't want him to get into trouble," explained Hilliard. "He was probably having a bad night."

Correction: A previous version of this story had a name spelled incorrectly. The correct spelling is Gina Hilliard.

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This article was originally published on TODAY.com