- Easton Oliverson threw the first pitch at the 2025 Little League World Series.
- The event marked three years since his near-fatal accident in South Williamsport, while attending the same baseball tournament in 2022.
- Easton, now a high school sophomore, continues to recover and pursue baseball.
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania — Easton Oliverson took to the pitcher's mound at the 2025 Little League World Series to throw the ceremonial first pitch. That first pitch was three years, to the day, since an accident — in the very same town while attending the same event — that nearly took his life.
It was on Aug 15, 2022, when then-12-year-old Easton fell 6 feet from his bunk bed, landing on a hard floor, fracturing his skull and cheekbone. The incident left him in critical condition, fighting for his life.
Today, Easton has made nearly a full recovery, and according to his dad, Jace Oliverson, returning to South Williamsport was a very healing experience.
He had a 0% chance to live ... doctors would use the words 'divine intervention' on numerous occasions.
–Jace Oliverson
"We had planned on going on this trip back for a while, and we wanted to go there incognito," he said. "We didn't want anyone to know that we were coming. We just wanted to go there and have Easton have the opportunity to experience it because he had gotten hurt before he was able to play."
Incognito was a very tall order for a boy who captured the hearts of so many. Pretty soon, league officials caught wind that they were coming and asked if Easton would want to throw the first pitch, with his younger brother Brogan Oliverson acting as catcher.
Jace Oliverson said that even though "incognito" was the goal, being surrounded by people who prayed for and supported his son was a way of giving back to that community.
"It was actually pretty humbling," Jace Oliverson said. "We had hundreds of people coming up and shaking our hands and telling (my wife) Nancy and I how amazing it is to see Easton doing well and out here back at Little League. Between Facebook and Instagram, he had probably over 250,000 followers. So, it was a pretty awesome thing for a lot of these people who were praying for him or doing things for him to see where he's at now. It was awesome just to see all the love and care that people had for this sweet kid."
Easton had very few words but simply said that the experience was "awesome" and "fun," adding that he's working on getting stronger every day.
Easton is a sophomore at Snow Canyon High School in St. George, and already has a year of high school baseball under his belt. His dad said that even with all of the athletic successes his son has experienced, even since the accident, that merely having him here today is miraculous and something he is grateful for every day.
"He had a 0% chance to live … so, seeing where he's at now, where he's able to compete at a high level in wrestling and baseball, it's pretty amazing," Jace Oliverson said. "Back there at Geisinger Hospital, doctors would use the words 'divine intervention' on numerous occasions.
"It's been pretty amazing to witness all of the miracles, but that doesn't mean in the same breath that it hasn't been extremely challenging because throughout his recovery, he's had to pretty much relearn how to do everything. He's got an incredible work ethic and drive to get better and get back to where he was when all hope was pretty much lost.
"Every kid is special in their own way, and Easton's no different than anybody else; just for some reason, his life was preserved, and we're grateful that he's still here with us."
As for future goals, Easton told KSL.com that school and baseball are currently on his radar as he continues his journey toward healing.
"I'm pretty much back to normal," Easton told KSL.com. "I sometimes have hard times, but other than that, I'm pretty close to being fully recovered. My goals are to maintain a 4.0 GPA in school, get better at baseball and get stronger."
