Amazing catch earns last out, saves team’s first win over rival in 12 years
You can look at any level of competition, but you will be hard-pressed to find a grab better than the one pulled down by Riverdale (N.Y.) Horace Mann School outfielder Eric Mass during a game against traditional rival Brooklyn (N.Y.) Poly Prep Country Day.
As you can see in the video above, with the game on the line -- Horace Mann was nursing a 3-2 lead with two outs in the bottom of the 7th inning with runners in scoring position -- Mass was charged with chasing down a deep, deep fly ball.
In fact, the ball was hit so deep that it would have been a home run in almost any other park. However, at Poly Prep Country Day, the ball was still in play because the diamond’s outer fence in right field traipses behind the batting cages, giving Mass and other right fielders a few more feet to chase down deep balls if they can navigate the plentiful obstructions.
Mass did just that, though he almost took himself out on a batting cage and sent himself tumbling forward in the process.
The catch was a particularly important one for Mass and Horace Mann because of the rivalry it won. HM had fallen in 12 consecutive matchups with Poly Prep, and would have fallen for season number 13 if Mass hadn’t pulled in his miracle grab.
Luckily for Mass and his teammates, he did just that, sealing the most memorable win of the season -- if not Mass’ career -- in the process.
“It’s indescrible,” Mass said of both the victory and his catch in particular. “It was just instinct. I just backtracked, kind of tripped and got my glove up. That’s all it was. I’m speechless right now.”
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