By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
Tanner Shehan was a perfect four-for-four, while Baxley Raines and Justin Marshall belted homeruns to lead the T.R. Miller Tigers to a 9-5 win over the visiting Northside Rams in Saturday's decisive game three in the second round of the state baseball playoffs.
Shehan broke up a scoreless game in the top of the third inning when he doubled home Mikel Riggs. After Jordan Cauley reached on an error, Raines parked a pitch over the rightfield wall for a three-run homer. That hit gave T.R. Miller (17-9) a 4-0 lead it would not relinquish.
Marshall belted a solo homerun one inning later that made it 5-0. Marshall along with Seth Holland came up with RBI singles in the fifth inning that gave the Tigers what seemed to be a comfortable 7-1 lead.
Northside (17-7) managed just one run and four hits through the first four innings against T.R. Miller pitcher Allen Williams. The Rams got to Williams in the bottom of the fifth when they strung together four hits, one of which was a two-run double by Coy Arrowood, and trimmed the Tigers' lead to just 7-5.
T.R. Miller picked up two insurance runs in the sixth when an RBI triple by Raines and an RBI double by Becker Denton increased the advantage to 9-5.
The Tigers were handcuffed by Northside pitcher Matt Wolfenbarger in the Rams' 4-3 victory in game one Friday.
Wolfenbarger scattered seven hits in a complete game victory, but more impressively struck out 17. Wolfenbarger struck out everybody in the T.R. Miller lineup at least once and 11 different Tigers overall.
The Rams took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning when they strung together four consecutive hits off T.R. Miller pitcher Baxley Raines and never trailed.
The lone Tiger who had consistent success against was leadoff batter Tanner Shehan. Shehan had three of T.R. Miller's seven hits, stole three bases and factored into all three of his team's runs. Shehan lined an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning that made it 3-1. Northside led 4-1 in the fifth when Shehan singled, stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored on a wild pitch.
Shehan gave the Tigers a chance to at least tie the game in the bottom of the seventh when his two-out RBI single pulled T.R. Miller within 4-3. Shehan stole second, but Wolfenbarger got Jordan Cauley to fly out to end the game.
The Tigers led from start to finish in their game two win.
Becker Denton gave T.R. Miller a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning and Raines came through with a two-run double in the third that doubled the advantage to 4-0.
Northside came back with a run in the bottom of the third and two more in the fourth that sliced T.R. Miller's lead to just 4-3.
The Tigers were unable to give themselves any breathing room until the top of the seventh when Denton lined an RBI double for his third hit of the game. Mackie Jackson and Justin Marshall added RBI singles that made it 7-3.
Jackson worked around eight Northside hits in a complete game win. He also posted five strikeouts.
The Tigers advance to this Friday's quarterfinal round where they will play at Montgomery Academy in another best-of-three series. The first two games will be played Friday. The third game, if necessary, will be Saturday. Game times have not been announced. Montgomery Academy won its second-round series against Slocomb in two games, 10-4 and 16-4.
Friday's game one
Northside 003 010 0 – 4 9 1
T.R. Miller 001 010 1 – 3 7 1
Game two
T.R. Miller 202 000 3 – 7 11 2
Northside 001 200 0 – 3 8 5
Saturday's game
T.R. Miller 004 122 0 – 9 10 1
Northside 000 140 0 – 5 9 3
Tigers oust Aliceville
T.R. Miller overcame a disastrous start when it rallied from six runs down in Tuesday's 10-7 first-round win over the Aliceville Yellow Jackets. The game was called in the bottom of the sixth inning due to heavy rain and lightning.
Aliceville took a 3-0 lead in the opening inning on Derek Cousette's RBI double and DeAndre Morrow's two-run homer. The Yellow Jackets doubled that advantage to 6-0 in the top of the third when Jermaine Garner delivered an RBI single and Fadeldrick Hughes lined an RBI single.
The Tigers found the spark they had lacked up to that point in the bottom of the third when they sent a dozen batters to the plate and scored eight runs to take the lead.
T.R. Miller began its rally when it loaded the bases with nobody out. Brice Martin doubled, Mikel Riggs beat out an infield single and Tanner Shehan was hit by a pitch. After Jordan Cauley fanned, Baxley Raines got the Tigers on the board with a two-run double.
The next three Tigers also hit safely. After Shehan was balked home, Becker Denton delivered an RBI single, Mackie Jackson ripped an RBI triple and Seth Holland stroked an RBI single that tied the game at 6-6. Martin reached base for the second time in the inning when he was hit by a pitch. Riggs put the Tigers ahead for good when he drilled a two-run double that put T.R. Miller up 8-6.
The Tigers knocked out Aliceville starting pitcher DeAndre Morrow in the bottom of the fourth when they added two more runs to their lead. Cauley walked, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Raines. Raines also stole second, went to third on a throwing error and scored on a wild pitch that put the lead up to 10-6.
While Aliceville had a lot of success against T.R. Miller starting hurler Allen Williams over the first three innings, reliever Mackie Jackson held the Yellow Jackets in check for the most part. The exception came in the top of the fifth when an RBI double by Garner trimmed T.R. Miller's lead to 10-7.
At T.R. Miller
Aliceville 303 010 – 7 10 1
T.R. Miller 008 20X – 10 8 2