Meet the kid who caught DBU home run ball in Columbia — while filming it with phone

Farrell Shoemake technically should have been at school on Monday. Instead he became a viral sensation on ESPN’s telecast of the Dallas Baptist and Virginia Super Regional broadcast.

Shoemake, a pitcher on Lugoff-Elgin High School’s B team, snagged DBU hitter Jackson Glenn’s home run ball with his glove on the left field concourse — all while running and while recording the sequence on his cell phone. It was Glenn’s 21st homer of the season and gave DBU a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

“I thought it was going to land in front of me and not reach but I took some steps back. I put my phone down because I had to catch the ball, but once I caught it I shoved the phone back in my glove,” said Shoemake, an avid Clemson fan. “I knew he was a good home run hitter, and him being a right-handed hitter there was a good chance he was going to hit it there. I filmed every pitch of the at-bat because I thought he might hit one.”

Shoemake’s catch made the rounds on social media, and ESPN tracked down Glenn and showed his footage on their broadcast. Dallas Baptist athletic officials saw the moment, too, and went into the stands to give him a DBU T-shirt and to take a photo with him and the ball.

Shoemake should have been at school, which since it wasn’t mandatory, he attended Monday’s Super Regional game with his father and grandfather. They were planning to go to Sunday’s game but couldn’t make it.

“Today was kind of perfect. I had school but didn’t go and have a baseball banquet tonight, so this was kind of the middle,” Shoemake said. “It was pretty cool.”