KENOSHA - Hundreds of people gathered at Mary D. Bradford High School Thursday evening to say goodbye to a young man who was a standout on the baseball field… and off.

Sam Schissel was a rising baseball star, with a big personality. He died one day before his 19th birthday.  People who knew him say they won’t forget him.

“He was very eccentric. Very outgoing,” said baseball coach Hansel Lugo. “He touched a lot of people as you can see with the turnout here.”

“Sam’s approval always meant the world to me,” said teammate Jon Atkins.  “If I did something good and he told me it was good, I knew it was legitimate then.’

Sam collapsed and died at home after being sick for 10 days. An autopsy showed he contracted a virus that attacked his heart, though it’s still unclear what exactly the virus was.  The coroner is continuing to test tissue samples in the hopes of pinpointing Sam’s illness.

And though his father says no parent should have to bury a child, Jim Schissel is hoping the loss of Sam will remind other parents to cherish every moment, while they can.

“You’ve got to tell you kids each and every day that you love them,” he said. “It means more than anything because this could be over in a blink of an eye."