Nichting goes airborne to make catch

As an athletic outfielder with three seasons of Division I collegiate experience under his belt, T.J. Nichting has made some memorable catches. But on Monday, he literally covered new ground.
"I've made some [good] catches on the field and maybe snagged a ball that was sneaking out for a home run, but nothing where I lay out in the stands and go over walls," he said. "Nothing like that."
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning of Class A Short Season Aberdeen's 4-3 loss to Tri-City, the 2017 Baltimore ninth-rounder bounded over the wall in left field to hault in a foul ball off the bat of No. 23 Houston prospectJ.J. Matijevic. At the plate, Nichting went 1-for-3 with a walk, stretching his hitting streak to 11 games. 

But it was the catch that made the game special for him -- and to some degree, the fans at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.
"They showed the replay at the field," the Charlotte product said, "and I thought, 'Well, I guess it had to be good, if they're showing the other team's catch at the field.' I definitely thought it was going to be cool [while I was making it], but I thought it looked way cooler once I saw the replay."
Gameday box score
Tracking the ball off the bat of the right-handed hitter, Nichting was almost immediately aware it might get into the seats.
"I don't know, it was kind of an instinctual play," the 23-year-old native of Hamilton, Ohio said. "I knew it was going to be near the fence, and there's a taller fence here. I wasn't sure if I could have stood and reached over it, and as I got closer, I thought, 'Maybe not,' because it was at the highest point. The ball kept drifting toward the stands and I just went after it."
Leaping, Nichting planted his right leg on the padded wall and extended his gloved left hand up for the catch as he tumbled out of play.
"Luckily, I fell into the seat," he said. "[It didn't hurt] in the moment, but right now, I'm kind of feeling it. The adrenaline kind of kept me from feeling any pain in the moment. It's maybe a little bruise -- nothing crazy. Just baseball stuff."
As he recovered, he heard the home crowd's reaction.
"There was a little 'Oooo,' and I kind of hit a guy a little bit while I was making the catch," Nichting said. "He looked at me and said, 'Wow! Holy cow! Great catch!'"
Having made that kind of highlight-reel play for the first time, he said he was "absolutely" ready to do it again.

His sixth-inning single gives him a .364 average over his recent streak, surpassing a 10-game run he put up from June 30-July 13. Coming out of the Draft, Nichting was 0-for-17 through his first four pro games and had another lull at the end of July, going 0-for-15 over four games. Despite those chilly spells, he's slashing .266/.304/.338 with nine stolen bases over 34 games for the IronBirds.
"I started off slow and I hit a rough patch in the year, but I made a bit of an adjustment. Going from college to pro, it's a little bit of an adjustment and I think I've handled it a little differently lately," he said. "I'm starting to find my rhythm and feeling really comfortable [in the box].
"It's not terribly [different] than college ball. I went to a pretty decent college in a decent conference and I've always worked hard. My coaches have showed me a lot of things that are kind of next-level things. You've always got to learn more and more every time you move to a new environment."
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Mason McCoy, drafted by the Orioles three rounds before Nichting, hit his first professional home run.
Matijevic finished 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
Reggie Johnson (5-0) struck out three over 1 1/3 perfect innings of relief to earn the win for the ValleyCats.