Delaware

Over the Wall: Delaware High School Softball Player Makes Epic Catch

"I was thinking too much about catching the ball and making the play than thinking about anything else, really"

It's already being called the catch of the year in some quarters, but, no, it wasn't made by some big-league MLB outfielder but by a fearless high school softball player who put her body on the line to get the out.

Wilmington Charter High School senior Taylor Gillis made SportsCenter's "Top Play" for her epic catch in which she went over the outfield wall and somehow still held on to the ball.

Video of the play shows Gillis dart to get under the ball as she approaches the wall. Instead of stopping, though, Gillis keeps running, using her right arm to propel her up and over the wall while her left arm remains outstretched.

"Once I saw the ball was off the bat, I knew it was a shot, so I immediately ran back to the fence. I took a peek at the fence, just kept a hand out, found the ball, found the fence, caught the ball, I guess," Gillis said as casually as if epic plays were just routine for her.

Head-over-heels went Gillis, but into the glove went the ball.

What's more, Gills immediately popped back up and threw it back into the infield to make sure the runners on base wouldn't collect more runs. Unfortunately, the ball was dead by then, but Gillis was acting on instinct at that point.

"In the moment it was all kinds of adrenaline. I was thinking too much about catching the ball and making the play than thinking about anything else, really," she said.

Unfortunately, her catch couldn't stave off a loss, but it did create a memorable moment that her dad and brother - with whom she has watched Sportscenter for years - were able to watch back as it appeared on TV screens all across America.

"It was sent to me by everybody and it's just so surreal. I didn't really think that I could do something like that. I just know that I'm out here playing a game that I love and doing the things that I can do best," she said.

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