Anthony D'Amico's remarkable baserunning play gets better with age for Terra State grad

Usually, when you tell a 'fish' story, you know the original fish was small as the story grows.

Anthony D'Amico's story literally gets better each time it's told. It was breathtakingly daring and athletic to begin with.

Winning baseball games isn't the emphasis at Sports Force Parks in Sandusky. Players are typically extremely aggressive, trying to test one another on offense and defense.

That's why Terra State Community College graduate D'Amico took a risk Wednesday. Before he had time to consider he'd made a poor decision, D'Amico dove over the catcher's head to score a run.

"[The catcher] got it so early, I thought I have to do something here," he said. "I've never tried that, jumping over the catcher. I've dreamed of it, every young player's dreamed of that. I've thought of that situation, but I wasn't thinking of doing that.

"I saw the ball come, I tried to go to the right for an angle to slide. You're going to slide, so he's bringing his glove to the ground. I could see the plate behind him wide open. It was instinct to get to the plate right there."

Anthony D'Amico over the top Terra State Community College grad Anthony D'Amico goes above and beyond to score run at Sports Force Parks in Sandusky.

There was only one out when D'Amico broke on contact on a grounder to third base in the first inning.

"I was going to the right to slide in there, I saw the ball get there early," he said. "I'm not going to lie, I had no intention of that, it wasn't a thought in my head. It just happened. It just fit."

D'Amico walked his dog during his phone interview. Even off the diamond, he's great at making decisions on the fly.

It looked like he was narrowly able to touch a small part of the plate near the edge on his way down. He was never concerned.

"I saw the catcher, the jump wasn't planned obviously, the plate was wide open," he said. "I knew I was going to get my hand in, it was more about him getting my legs with a tag. I barely got it, but I knew."

D'Amico plays for the Bay Boaters at Sports Force Parks. Terra State's Aerion Gibson (Danbury), Austin Nuhfer (Lakota), Tandon Lemmon (Tiffin Columbian) and Reilly Tyna (Cuyahoga Heights) play for the Boaters.

D'Amico, at shortstop for Terra State during fall ball, remembers fielding a grounder straight up the middle on the forehand behind second base. He spun all the way around and executed a sidearm throw to first base for an out while falling down.

He jumped high to make a catch at second base, before landing on his back in a game as a sophomore for Terra State. It doesn't compare to his acrobatics this week.

"That was the best moment I've ever had on a baseball diamond," he said. "That's easily the best thing that happened."

D'Amico, who plays shortstop, second base and third base, graduated from Sandusky in 2021. He heads to Heidelberg after two years at Terra State.

It doesn't matter the Boaters lost Wednesday. More than 120 college players are testing themselves to continue to develop.

"It's a summer ball game," D'Amico said. "Coach [Todd Brown] talked before the game to be aggressive. I was getting a good lead, I thought I was quick enough. I was half way to the plate already, I was thinking make a good slide, maybe swim move it.

"It definitely was not a play to run on. I ran on a ball I really wasn't supposed to run on."

Seeking to avoid a confrontation, he's ecstatic he took the high road. The over the top highlight was viewed across the nation.

"The night it happened, I thought it was pretty sick, that's it," he said. "I talked to BCSN after the game. They told me they would send it in. I wasn't expecting the No. 1 spot. I didn't know what to think. As it sat in, it was a better play than I thought.

"It was instinct at the moment. It didn't feel like it happened, it felt surreal thinking it might be on ESPN. I doubted it would get on TV. I watched it over and over, I must have seen it 100 times. 'Wow, I did do that.' It looked better in my head actually after seeing it on ESPN."

mhorn@gannett.com

419-307-4892

Twitter: @MatthewHornNH

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Anthony D'Amico goes above, beyond for baseball as Terra State grad