The Indians set a school record with 5 home runs in an 18-11 slugfest at home on Tuesday against visiting Rabun County, earning a third straight victory in the process. The game featured Rabun County taking a commanding 9-1 lead before TFS rallied back for the win.
Rabun County took a quick 4-0 lead in the opening frame, taking advantage of walks and an error. A Norman Bastian, Jr. sacrifice fly got one back in the home half, but the Wildcats added a 3-run home run in the second as part of a 5-run inning. That boosted Rabun up 9-1 to seemingly put the game out of reach.
However, Tallulah Falls’ best offense in school history caught fire. It started in the third inning with a leadoff solo homer off the bat of Joel Miller, who blasted a school record two home runs in the game. After a Drew Bates single, Bastian, Jr. then launched a two-run dinger over the right field fence, cutting into the Rabun lead and making it a 9-4 ball game. Danny Grant doubled in Frankey Moree and Malique Charlton, and Miller walked with the bases loaded to cap the 6-run third inning and moving the score to 9-7 in favor of the visitors. In all, 11 batters came to the plate that frame as TFS drew closer to Rabun.
Aiden Gragg, who came in relief of Jeremy Medina, buckled down from there. A bases loaded hit by pitch of Kylar Clouatre made it a 9-8, one-run game after four innings. The Wildcats added a pair in the fifth to pull ahead 11-8, but they’d score no more.
Bates, Bastian, Jr., and Tyler Popham all had RBI singles in the bottom of the fifth, tying the game at 11 apiece. Gragg worked around a two-out single in the sixth, and the Indians broke the tie in the home half on Miller’s second home run, as he drove a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence for the eventual game-winner. Later in the inning, Moree blasted a 3-run homer to center to make it a 15-11 TFS lead. Moments later, for the third time in the inning, the Indians again benefited from the long ball as Charlton belted a 2-run bomb to left, padding the lead to 17-11. Bates recorded an RBI groundout before the inning was over, and TFS held on for the 18-11 win.
TFS scored 7 runs in the sixth, and set school records with 3 home runs in an inning and 5 in one game. Miller is the first known TFS player to have a multi-homer game. The Indians slugged out 15 hits.
Miller was 2-for-2 with 2 home runs, 2 RBI, 2 walks, and 4 runs. Bates had 3 hits and 2 RBI, Bastian 3 hits and 4 RBI, and Moree 3 RBI. Popham had 2 hits and an RBI, while Charlton had 2 hits and 2 RBI. Grant also had 2 RBI, as the 18 runs scored were just 3 off the school single-game record.
Gragg picked up the win in relief, lasting 6 frames and giving up 4 earned runs while striking out 2. The Indians have now won 3 straight, and are 5-3 overall on the season.
