Sheldon slams McNary in opener.

Byline: Chris Hansen The Register-Guard

Nick Anderson has dreamed of delivering a game-winning hit for his team in a playoff situation.

On Monday he delivered - in grand style.

The Sheldon senior uncorked a monstrous home run with the bases loaded and two outs to cap a five-run fifth inning, and the Irish held on to beat visiting McNary 5-4 to advance out of the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

"(Being the clean-up hitter) guys expect you to do that," Anderson said. "There is a responsibility, but there is also a lot of pressure."

Never more so than in that particular moment for Anderson, who saved the season for Sheldon (15-2), the co-champions of the Midwestern League.

Through the first 4 1/2 innings, the Irish had managed only one hit off McNary starter Austin Dirkx, committed three errors and trailed 3-0.

But Chris Baltzer led off the fifth with a double and Luke Bellotti laid down a bunt single to put two runners on. Baltzer was thrown out at third base on a bunt by Patrick Armstead, Jeff Dye drew a walk to load the bases and Alex Brink drew another to bring home Bellotti and get keep the bases loaded for Anderson. He then took a few pitches before driving a fastball deep over the fence in left-center field.

"He wasn't finding the strike zone, and once he got behind on me he left one up over the plate," Anderson said.

The Irish survived a scare in the sixth inning, when Brink walked Kelly Gilmore with one out and Jason Rabenberg followed with an RBI double that hit off the top rail of the fence in left field and bounced back into play to prevent a game-tying home run.

"That's the third time that's happened to us, where the ball has hit off the top and bounced back in," Brink said. "It's weird. I guess it's the luck of the Irish."

Brink went the distance for the win, though he wasn't all that sharp. He allowed six hits, walked six and hit two batters. McNary (10-9), the No. 4 seed from the Valley League, scored one run off Brink in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings.

But Brink also struck out six, including two in the seventh inning, and worked his way out of four bases-loaded jams where he allowed only one run.

"Things happen," Brink said. "Calls don't go your way, you make bad pitches, but you have to salvage what you can and still throw the good ones in the right situations."

"It's another classic game where we get outhit and find a way to win," Sheldon coach Ben Johnson said. "These kids have something in them that comes up clutch in key spots. We've had the ability to dodge some bullets in the fact that we don't tend to give too many big innings."

Sheldon next will play at Oregon City on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Pioneers are the No. 2 seed out of the Three Rivers League. They defeated Redmond 8-4 on Monday.

"Oregon City is a team that is perennially one of the better teams in the state," Johnson said. "They are very well-coached. Hopefully we can get the sticks going and get some magic up on the bump to where we can compete with those guys."

CAPTION(S):

Sheldon players jump for joy after Nick Anderson belted his grand slam to cap a five-run fifth inning and power the Irish to their first-round victory