How's this for a splitter?
There are first pitches, and then there are whatever you want to call this incredible cheerleading-like routine that took place before the San Diego Padres game against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park Friday night.
Demi Bagby was asked to throw out the first pitch, and boy she did not disappoint.
Demi Bagby's Backflip-Split First Pitch
The girl that threw out the first pitch tonight in San Diego ABSOLUTLEY KILLED IT pic.twitter.com/m9QMKnFA1l
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) July 31, 2021
RELATED: Simone Biles' First Pitch Backflip is One of a Kind
Bagby begins in the stretch but suddenly thinks to herself, "nah, let's give the fans here a show that they'll remember forever."
Like an athlete on the U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team, she hits a backflip followed by split jump AND LANDS INTO A SPLIT ON THE GROUND. I can't emphasize enough how crazy a move that was.
Most people would be sore for weeks after that (or probably tear a muscle). That was just another day at the ballpark for Bagby.
She then fires home while still on the ground. The pitch was just a bit outside to the Swinging Friar at home plate. Then, Bagby wows the crowd one more time by jumping off her back to get up off the ground. Seriously, Demi Bagby should be in Tokyo right now alongside Simone Biles.
The video instantly began going viral. It has close to 100,000 views on Twitter and more than 60,000 people have already liked it on Bagby's Instagram account (and that was in less than an hour).
Who Is Demi Bagby?
So, who is this nimble chick? It turns out Demi Bagby has an incredible story.
The 20-year-old is a former cheerleader who broke her back in a freak cheerleading accident back in 2014. She was paralyzed for three months, and there was a very real possibility she'd be in a wheelchair the rest of her life.
"Two years ago I broke my lower back severely injuring myself. I was very close to having serious permanent back problems or even becoming paralyzed. I was told I would never do hard core training again, and that I pretty much wouldn't be able to to the things I do now," she wrote on Instagram.
Once she was able to start walking and training again after the injury, Demi found that doing CrossFit and calisthenic workouts helped her recovery tremendously. Now, seven years after the freak injury, the woman with more than two million followers on Instagram is doing backflips and split jumps in front of thousands of people at Petco Park.
Something tells me this won't be the last first pitch Demi Bagby throws.
