Brue Milner’s first home run gave Tallassee’s dugout some life.
His second home run electrified the entire city.
Milner slugged two home runs, including a go-ahead three-run home run in the fifth inning, to lead Tallassee’s baseball team past No. 3-ranked Gulf Shores, 6-4, in Game 3 of the second round of the playoffs.
Tallassee (19-9) won the series, 2-1, with a 5-1 win in Game 1 on Friday night.
“Brue gets that first one and that really puts a charge in us,” Tallassee coach John Goodman said. “That second one, that really put us over the edge. He got two good ones. … I love this team. I really love this team. This team reminds me of old school Tallassee baseball. They just keep fighting, fighting, fighting and they want to learn.”
Tallassee trailed, 4-0, when Milner’s first home run left the park.
Brody Wisener led the fourth inning off by reaching base via error. Then on a 1-2 count to Milner, he deposited a breaking ball over the left field wall to cut the lead to 4-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, Chase Chumley drove in a run on a RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3. After Wisener reached via fielder’s choice, Milner stepped back up to the plate with runners at the corners and one out.
The first pitch thrown to him was high. The next pitch was straight down the middle. He watched both. On a 1-1 count, however, Gulf Shores’ John Luke Stephens hung a breaking ball directly down the middle.
Milner hit once again to left field, and it just hooked around the foul pole for a three-run home run that put the Tigers up, 6-4.
“I was hoping it stayed fair,” Milner said. “There was so much excitement going through my mind when I hit it. He threw me that curveball right there. He hung it and I banged it.”
Milner’s big hits stole the spotlight, but Chase Webster was the force that kept Gulf Shores at bay. The Dolphins scored four runs on five hits against starter Walker Wells, who pitched 2 ⅔ innings.
After the fourth run, Goodman brought in Webster to pitch in relief.
Webster pitched the remaining 4 ⅓ innings and allowed just four hits to the Dolphins. He struck out only one batter and let his defense do the dirty work.
Webster ran into trouble in both the fourth and the fifth innings. He had runners at second and third in the fourth before forcing two ground balls to end the inning without allowing a run. In the fifth, he got two fly balls to end the scoring threat.
Following Milner’s go-ahead home run, he carried that momentum back onto the mound. He retired eight of the last nine batters he faced, including six of seven in the last two innings. With a man on first and two outs in the seventh, he struck out his only batter of the day with a fastball.
“Chase came in and threw lights out for three or four innings,” Goodman said. “He allowed us to get back into it and we finally made some plays and got where we needed to be.”
In the Game 1 win, Tallassee’s lone senior was lights out on the mound. Brady Mason, a Huntingdon signee, pitched a complete game and allowed no earned runs on just six hits. As he held the Dolphins to only one run, the Tigers gave him all the run support he needed with a four-run fourth inning.
Wells and Mason led off the inning with a single and double, then Cash Gough drove in two runs on a Gulf Shores error. The next batter, Bry Hathcock, drove in the final run on a single up the middle.
The Tigers will now hit the road for the first time this postseason. Tallassee heads to Mobile Christian for the third round matchup. The date and time have not been decided yet but they play Wednesday and Thursday.
Dalton Middleton, TALLASSEE TRIBUNE