Tyrell Brewer's SportsCenter moment: Steal of home in JU victory gets nationwide attention

It was a big inning for the Jacksonville University Dolphins but it could have been bigger.

That's why JU coach Chris Hayes gave graduate senior second baseman Tyrell Brewer the green light to make one of the most daring plays of the season during Tuesday's 6-2 ASUN tournament victory over Eastern Kentucky at Conrad Park in DeLand.

"He's fearless," Hayes said of Brewer's steal of home with two outs in the fifth inning to cap the scoring for the night as the Dolphins advanced to a Pool B winner's bracket game on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against Central Arkansas. "Great instincts."

And the play of the tournament so far ... perhaps a defining moment for the Dolphins, depending on how the rest of the tournament unfolds.

Video of the play was not only posted on social media by JU and the ASUN, but by the NCAA as well.

It then made No. 8 on ESPN SportsCenter's nightly Top 10.

It wasn't just the rare nature of a steal of home -- it was how it unfolded, according to Hayes.

Here's how Tyrell Brewer stole home

The Dolphins loaded the bases with none out in the fifth when Will Gale reached on an error, Jaden Bastian walked and Brewer beat out a bunt single.

Relief pitcher Isaac Milburn came in and surrendered a two-run single by Chandler Howard, the second two-run hit of the game for the Lake City Columbia graduate, and Brewer advanced to third.

Milburn rallied with two strikeouts and Hayes was worried that getting out of the inning with no further damage after having runners on first and third with none out would be a huge momentum swing for the Colonels.

Hayes also noticed Milburn had a relatively slow motion on his pitches.

"He's a left-hander and very deliberate in his delivery, even from the stretch," he said.

EKU third baseman Connor Davis was playing back with right-handed hitter Tyler Hinkirus at bat, making all the conditions ripe for taking a chance.

Hayes didn't even give a sign. He walked over to Brewer before Milburn delivered his first pitch to Hinkirus and whispered, "steal home."

Brewer beat the pitch to the plate

Brewer got a huge jump and slid head-first, touching the plate a split-second before catcher Silas Shaffer caught the ball. Shaffer didn’t even attempt a tag.

"We felt pretty good about his chances," Hayes said. "He was getting pretty far off the base and I really think they forgot about him.”

Hayes said it was about keeping the momentum generated by Howard’s second bases-loaded hit of the game.

“We were sitting there with a couple of runs and still had first and third with none out,” Hayes said. “I didn't want to come away empty after that.”

Hayes also had the right player on third.

“Tyrell is fearless,” he said of the Orlando native and transfer from Charleston Southern who is hitting .314 this season. "Sometimes he can be a little reckless but when he is aggressively under control he's dominant."

Brewer has stolen successfully on 17 of 18 attempts this season.

A steal of home is a first for a Chris Hayes JU team

Hayes, in his eighth season coaching the Dolphins, said the team has never had what he calls "a straight steal" of home.

"We've executed the first-and-third double-steal, where the runner on third breaks when the catcher throws to second," Hayes said. “But I don't recall a true straight steal of home. Every run matters in tournament baseball and we were able to not let that run get away and keep the momentum."

JU's pitching mopped up nicely after that. Starter Richard Long (8-2), a Clay graduate, completed a six-inning outing, surviving his only two walks of the game in his final inning to run his ASUN record to 7-0, and relievers Tommy Allman and Isaac Williams of Fleming Island combined for three innings of two-hit relief.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: JU's Tyrell Brewer swipes home to cap ASUN tournament victory over EKU