Lincoln baseball's Fuller, Bailey hold 'brotherlike' connection, Trojans advance to region semis

Lincoln baseball players Myles Bailey and Chase Fuller have been friends since childhood.

Having a brotherlike relationship, the pair of Lincoln baseball players have developed a special bond with each other, starting when Bailey took Fuller under his wing when he was seven years old.

As the pair continue to push each other at Lincoln, they know how to get the best out of themselves on the field, and in the Trojans' 1-0 win over Orange Park in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals on Tuesday night, that connection was on display.

After Fuller gave up a walk to Orange Park with one out in the seventh inning and the Trojans holding a 1-0 lead, Bailey initiated a mound visit to talk with the pitcher, helping him refocus on the bump.

What followed the visit?

Fuller forced a ground ball to Bailey at first base, who turned the game-ending double play for Lincoln.

"That's my big brother," Fuller said through a smile. "Ever since I met him, we've just been training and playing together. He's my brother."

Embracing the big brother role, Bailey said he is glad to share his final season at Lincoln with Fuller.

"This year he came here and it has been great," Bailey said. "I'm a senior and I've been doing this for four years and he's in year one, so being able to see him and teach him about the things I went through and learned during high school is huge."

The pair of Florida State commits have been two of Lincoln's top players, with Fuller holding a .377 batting average, recording 29 hits, 16 RBI and two home runs, while Bailey holds a .333 batting average, recording 25 hits, 19 RBI and six home runs this season.

Trojans head coach Mike Gauger knows Bailey is a leader, and he felt that what he did for Fuller on Tuesday night was nothing out of the ordinary for the senior.

One of Lincoln's most consistent players since joining the program, Gauger said Bailey knows when to step in and help out teammates like Fuller.

"Myles is a leader. He has a good feel for the game and his environment, his surroundings. So he did a good job of stopping the game and stopping the flow to calm Chase down," Gauger said. "Chase responds to Myles, they are tight. So it was great to see Myles do that and then have Chase make that pitch that started the double play."

Lincoln hoping to get more aggressive at the plate

Tyler Anderson drove in the lone run for Lincoln Tuesday night, smacking a single in the bottom of the fourth to score Nate Dietz.

While the one run was enough to overcome Orange Park Tuesday night, Bailey knows the Trojans need to be more aggressive at the plate come Friday's regional semifinal.

Scoring 140 runs this season, the Trojans rank above the national average in runs, which sits at 108, and Bailey feels like the key to getting hot is swinging the bats early in the ballgame.

"We've got to get the bats going super early. We got to be aggressive and make our plays on defense," Bailey said. "Just really got to swing the bats early and if they got any energy we have to try and knock it out super early and go through the rest of the game."

Hosting Escambia in the 5A Region 1 semifinals on Friday, May 10, Gauger knows his team is likely to face a strong pitcher like the one it faced on Tuesday.

He hopes a changed approach at the plate alongside good pitching will get Lincoln to the final.

"Hopefully we throw strikes early in the count," Gauger said. "Pitch ahead and have a better approach at the plate where we're not popping up so much or rolling over ground balls. Hopefully we have a more centralized middle-away approach.

"I know both teams have really, really good arms, so we'll see something probably like the game tonight."

Fuller thriving in freshman year, first year at Lincoln

High school competition isn't new to Fuller.

The freshman player at Maclay before transferring to Lincoln, competing as an eighth grader for the Marauders varsity team, posting a .354 batting average with 15 RBI and three home runs, landing him on the All-Big Bend first team.

Ranked as the number one player in the class of 2027 by Perfect Game USA, Fuller officially entered the high school ranks this year with the Trojans, and he said he felt ready for the challenge.

"I just thought all the travel games and all the work I've done, it just transferred over here to this level," Fuller said. "It took me like five games to get used to it, but I like it."

Fuller feels that coming to Lincoln has helped him keep growing his game, and he said he's happy to play his freshman year with the Trojans.

"It's been a great transition over to Lincoln," Fuller said. "I'm really happy I made the decision to come over here. It's been really good."

Tuesday's regional baseball scores

1A Region 3 semifinal: Lafayette 1, Madison County 0

The Cowboys season comes to an end at the hands of Lafayette, losing to the Hornets 1-0 on the road Tuesday night.

A strong outing from pitcher Thad Lawson kept Madison County close, with the junior striking out nine and allowing only six hits. The Cowboys end the year as district champions with a 15-10 record.

6A Region 1quarterfinal: Chiles 11, Tocoi Creek 4

The Timberwolves keep on rolling, picking up a fourth straight win Tuesday night, beating Tocoi Creek 11-4.

Senior Davis Avera hit a three-run home run, while Sander Dinkleman hit a two-run home run and added an RBI single to lead the team with 3 RBI each, while Will McDonald, Tyler Correa and Colby Tadder added one RBI each. McDonald threw six innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven before Emery Dawkins closed things out in the seventh inning.

Chiles will host Hagerty on Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m.

Liam Rooney covers preps sports for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Lincoln's Chase Fuller, Myles Bailey look to lead Trojans title charge