Notre Dame center fielder makes like Jim Edmonds on diving catch
Notre Dame’s baseball team entered the weekend leading the nation with a .984 fielding percentage, and it’s easy to see why with plays like the one center fielder TJ Williams made in Friday’s game against Pittsburgh.
The Panthers’ Dom Popa hit the first pitch of the third inning to deep right-center field. Williams sprinted to his left, then adjusted his trajectory straight back toward the wall. As the ball flew over his head, he reached out and dove onto the warning track, catching the ball while he was airborne.
Williams landed on the dirt and twisted around, holding up his glove. Then he casually stood up, flipped the ball into his bare hand and tossed it back to the infield as his teammates tipped their caps from the Notre Dame dugout.
The play was reminiscent of a catch made by the Angels’ Jim Edmonds in Kansas City in 1997.
This browser does not support the video element.
Pittsburgh went on to win the game, 3-1, but it’s been quite a week for Williams. On Sunday, the 5-foot-11 senior from Germantown, Md., hit a walk-off homer to clinch a series win over then-No. 8 Wake Forest.