Former UCF student Ryan Bass, who is a baseball reporter, helped a young fan recover from an older fan stealing a home run ball
A Tampa Bay Rays reporter helped turn an ugly moment into a beautiful one Monday.
In the fifth inning, Cleveland Guardians player Daniel Schneemann hit a two-run homer at Progressive Field. The play ended with a grown man wrestling the ball from a young female fan.
It was caught on camera, causing the announcers to comment.
“No! He’s not gonna steal that!” Rays play-by-play announcer Andy Freed said while watching the replay.
“Yeah, that can’t happen,” Tampa Bay color commentator Brian Anderson said.
That's when Rays reporter Ryan Bass leaped into action. Bass found the girl in the crowd to offer a baseball. The girl appeared to start crying after the nice gesture.
The moment has made national headlines. Bass, who is a UCF Knights grad, is a longtime baseball reporter.
NIXON FINDS NFL HOME
Alongside UCF defensive end Nyjalik Kelly, one-year Knights running back Jaden Nixon was also signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent.
Nixon joined UCF after three seasons with Oklahoma State and one year with Western Michigan, recording 71 carries for 554 yards and seven touchdowns.
He was also a dangerous player on special teams, using breakaway speed to get out into open space.
In the second game of the season, against NC A&T, Nixon burst onto the scene for the Knights.
Despite a delay of over an hour, redshirt senior Jaden Nixon was undeterred by the inclement weather and rain, taking the initial kick-off to the house for a blazing 96-yard touchdown return.
Nixon did not stop there, scoring two additional touchdowns with his legs and totaling 156 yards rushing on only four touches (39 yards per carry). His longest carry of the night was an 87-yard foot race, helping the Knights rout the Aggies 68-7.
MONTGOMERY JOINS PATRIOTS
Myles Montgomery has the opportunity to change his family's life after signing with the New England Patriots following going undrafted on Saturday.
He joins a 14-3 squad who finished atop the AFC East and is fresh off a Super Bowl appearance. The Patriots have four running backs: Rhamondre Stevenson, TreVeyeon Henderson, Terrell Jennings and Jam Miller.
Stevenson and Henderson are the lead backs, as they split reps throughout the season. Jennings played most of his snaps on special teams and Miller is New England's 245th pick from Alabama.
Montgomery has his work cut out for him, competing for a depth spot on the roster with Jennings and Miller. The former UCF workhorse said his pitch to teams was that he's willing to do anything to help his team win despite having one year of starting experience.
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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of UCFRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com