Crete-Monee’s Bren Milburn loves the sensation he will get when he takes off to steal a base.
The senior utility man actually will get excited when he’s unsure whether or not or not he’s going to make it.
“It’s the adrenaline,” Milburn mentioned. “It’s form of only a fight-or-flight sort of factor. It’s a possibility to place your workforce in a greater spot. The adrenaline actually will get going when it seems prefer it’s going to be shut and you recognize you must beat the tag or slide round it.
“When it’s shut like that, I believe that’s essentially the most enjoyable half.”
This spring, nonetheless, it was hardly ever shut. And the stolen bases had been virtually by no means doubtful for Milburn, a Morton School recruit.
He piled up an Illinois Excessive College Affiliation document 93 for the season and was caught stealing simply twice. Crete-Monee coach Brad Meyer remembers a type of two effectively.
“In opposition to Eisenhower, he tried to slip across the shortstop and he had the bottom stolen however he slid too far, went previous the bag and the child nonetheless had the tag on,” Meyer mentioned.
Other than that miscue, it was just about an automated factor when Milburn took off. These 93 steals additionally led the nation this season, in keeping with statistics on MaxPreps.
“Catcher’s indifference is a factor, however with Bren, he has the bottom stolen earlier than you’ll be able to resolve if it was catcher’s indifference or not,” Meyer mentioned. “By the point the ball crosses the plate, he’s already standing on the bottom.
“We knew Bren was going to do no matter he might to get on base. Then he was going to steal second and he was going to steal third.”
Milburn did that so typically that he shattered the earlier IHSA document for stolen bases in a season. Odin’s Jeff Burton in 1988 and Lane Tech’s Joe Perez in 2001 each completed with 73 steals.
Milburn, who stole 48 bases final yr, might by no means have imagined almost doubling that quantity this spring.
“Truthfully, the objective was to get to 60 stolen bases, so 93 is loopy,” Milburn mentioned. “However my workforce gave me a whole lot of alternatives. I wished to get on base as a lot as I might. I took my walks.
“That gave me a whole lot of possibilities to steal.”
Milburn is greater than only a one-trick pony, although. He hit .439 with 53 runs and 32 RBIs and went 7-2 on the mound with a 1.37 ERA.
He was named each the participant of the yr and the pitcher of the yr within the Southland Convention.
“Earlier than the yr, he was going to pitch in reduction and his objective was to get seven saves,” Meyer mentioned. “Then I advised him I wanted him to be our No. 1 starter, and he simply went out and received seven wins as an alternative.”
Milburn is a part of an enormous baseball household. His dad, Bryan, is an assistant coach at Crete-Monee and a hitting teacher at All Points Baseball and Softball Academy in Schererville, Indiana. Bren’s older brother, Blake, performed baseball at Aurora College after starring at Crete-Monee.
“Seeing my older brother play in faculty and seeing what it takes to get there, I really feel like I’ve at all times taken baseball critically since a younger age,” Milburn mentioned. “I’ve at all times had that drive to get higher.”
He’ll proceed to place that drive to make use of at Morton. And he has large future targets.
“I wish to get to Division I baseball and get drafted ultimately,” Milburn mentioned. “I felt like going the juco route was the very best for me, one of the best ways to play instantly.”
As for highschool, Milburn completed with 188 profession steals, which places him third in IHSA historical past. That document is held by Waltonville’s Tim Dressler, who stole 210 from 1981 to 1984.
Milburn has nonetheless not gotten used to seeing his identify all around the document books.
“It’s superior,” he mentioned. “I don’t suppose it’s actually set in but. I believe it would take a pair years.”
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