Rays Fan Shea VanScoter Turns Into Viral Sensation After Slick Bucket Hat Home Run Catch

Like viral sensations that came before her — Jenn Sterger comes to mind — Rays fan Shea VanScoter was in the right place at the right time this week at a game when Danny Jansen went yard.

Already leading the Twins 5-2 in the 8th inning on Memorial Day, Jansen blasted a 3-2 pitch from Kody Funderburk into the left field seats at Steinbrenner Field and straight into VanScoter's yellow bucket hat. 

The catch and her reaction to the catch has the new Florida resident into a hero: 

Keep in mind, VanScoter's college softball career at Goshen College ended on April 29. She gave up four runs on eight hits over 3 ⅔ innings before being pulled in the 8-3 loss. It was a tough way to end a softball career, but life moves on. 

She graduated in early May, packed up and moved south to attend grad school & then a doctorate in physical therapy. 

Fast-forward a month and here she is in Florida and on the news for a bucket hat catch heard around Tampa. 

That's the power of Florida. 

VanScoter explained to Bay 9 News that the hitter before Jansen drove one off the fence right in front of her. "It was right below us. My boyfriend and I were like, well, what are we going to do, I don't have a glove," she explained. "I was like, I'm going to use the bucket hat if it comes to me." 

Minutes later, it was time to make a catch & turn into a star. 

"When it was coming to me, I was like, a Halloween basket, piece of candy," VanScoter, a Michigan native, said of her catch. 

VanScoter also offered up her services if the Rays would like to have her shag fly balls. 

In other words, Shea's 15 minutes might not be up just yet. 

Buckle up.