Crestwood freshman Alyssa Hallis made SportsCenter with a spectacular catch in left

Alyssa Hallis will always remember her freshman season for the Red Devils.

How could she not?

She made SportsCenter.

For decades, ESPN's signature program has highlighted the top 10 plays of the day, most stemming from college and professional sports. It might take athletes years to make SportsCenter's Top Ten. Most, of course, never make SportsCenter at all.

As for Hallis?

The Crestwood freshman earned SportsCenter's second-best play of the day the very first time she started a high school game in center field, thanks to a remarkable catch that she made as she plunged into the left-field fence.

"She had to travel quite a ways to get to it," Red Devils coach LeRoy Moore said. "When she did, it was one of those simultaneous [things] where you see her reaching up, catching the ball and then just flipping over."

"I never expected that for sure," Hallis added. "I was just super happy about my catch and I remember talking with all my teammates and stuff and everybody's like, 'Imagine if that was on video or whatever.'"

It turns out it was.

The batter's father, Thad Bergmeier, had videotaped the booming shot his daughter, Anni, sent to deep left and then posted the incredible catch on Twitter.

"It was an incredible play, I mean that's the bottom line," Bergmeier said. "I wanted people to see it and it's the right thing to do."

It was Bergmeier who tagged SportsCenter.

It was largely because of Bergmeier that the world saw a speedy freshman's remarkable grab.

"Most people probably wouldn't think twice to post it because I mean their daughter just got robbed of a home run," Hallis said. "I mean that kind of sucks, but the fact that he posted that and, basically, I have him to thank for all of this, [I'm] definitely very grateful that he shared that video."

Hallis saw Bergmeier's tweet, thanked him and then went to sleep.

It wasn't until the next morning that she learned she had made SportsCenter.

"My mom came into my room and she's like, 'I just got a text that you were on SportsCenter,'" Hallis said. "I'm like, 'What?' Like I didn't believe it because it's so crazy."

Bergmeier had a similar reaction when a couple of friends reached out to him.

"I'm like you got to be kidding me," Bergmeier said. "So I turned on SportsCenter, had to watch it basically an hour to get to it and it's kind of a crazy moment."

As for his daughter, Bergmeier noted that she's very modest, so she didn't necessarily love all the people coming up to her and humming the SportsCenter intro at school. Still, the modest Berkshire junior finished her season with an immodest batting average of .508, along with the unique distinction of being on SportsCenter.

"That's what I told her," Bergmeier said. "I said many years from now, you're going to look back on this and go, 'Oh, wow, I was on SportsCenter.' Like that doesn't happen. Like who does that happen for?"

Crestwood freshman Alyssa Hallis impressed beyond her Top Ten catch

As for Hallis, beyond making SportsCenter, her spectacular catch signaled that the Red Devils have their centerfielder of the future.

Earlier in the season, junior Aimee Barnauskas handled center before Moore decided he needed Barnauskas to help solidify the infield at the shortstop position. Off to center went Hallis, who had played plenty of center but never for the high school team.

"This year, going into high school, I had a little bit more to prove to my coaches and my team," Hallis said. "So I started off mostly in right field, the first couple of games I was playing about half and I was DH a few times and then, yeah, I got my chance to start in center, which I was super excited about, obviously a little bit nervous, because that's a big spot to fill."

Hallis also had to make a big adjustment at the plate, where Moore turned her into a lefty slap-hitter to take advantage of her speed.

Hallis previously wasn't a slap-hitter.

Nor was she a lefty.

"I was very shocked that he was wanting me to do that," Hallis said. "But I'm always up for new challenges and learning new things."

Hallis gave it a shot, and while it took some time to adjust to reading pitches from the opposite side of the plate, she finished her freshman season with a .407 batting average, scoring nine runs despite having just 32 plate appearances.

"She has taken to that," Moore said. "I mean she's basically hitting [.400] utilizing a technique that she has never been exposed to before."

And, of course, Hallis' freshman season included a catch that she'll never forget.

"I think that gave me a lot of confidence," Hallis said. "I know I still have to prove myself and there's so many more ways I can prove myself, but it was a very good confidence builder there to know that I can make some harder catches that are going to come my way."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Crestwood freshman Alyssa Hallis makes incredible catch, SportsCenter