Carthage High School senior Jada Walton rounded third base and headed home. The throw came in time, and to avoid the tag, she had to jump out of the way of not only the glove but outside the line of the plate.
Face-to-face with the catcher, she was caught. She was about to be out. She had no chance of getting around the catcher and to the plate. So she pulled out a desperation move that was presumably the first thing that came to mind.
She pointed toward first base, as if she were saying “Look over there!”
It somehow worked. Whatever crazy thing she told the catcher was happening over there broke the catcher’s attention and made her look away. In that second, Walton dove toward the plate and miraculously got in.
She pulled out the oldest trick in the book. It’s the escape scene where the protagonist throws a rock and the villains all go to investigate that noise. It’s the parent fake-stomping-away-from-the-bedroom-door before peeking back in to see if the child is, in fact, asleep. It’s basically any Tom & Jerry, Roadrunner & Coyote, etc. move. And it worked like a charm.
