The annual congressional baseball game took place on Thursday night at Nats Park, one day after a gunman opened fire on a group of Republican lawmakers in Virginia during a baseball practice for the charity game.

Capitol Police officer David Bailey was cited by House Speaker Paul Ryan as one of the heroes for saving lives during the attack.

And on Thursday night, Bailey appeared on crutches and threw out the first pitch for the congressional game. He received a well-deserved rousing ovation and was greeted on the mound by Joe Torre.

Here’s video of the emotional moment:

A record (for the congressional baseball game) 24,959 were in attendance.

And the Democrats came away with an 11-2 victory.

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.