Talk about a moment you dream about …
Sophomore Zach Gwillim of Monroe High School in Oregon hit a walk-off pinch-hit home run in the bottom of the seventh inning last Friday to give his team its first state title since 1991 … and it all came on his first varsity hit.
According to The Oregonian, Gwillim was on varsity to start the season but was dropped to JV after one game. He was brought back up later in the season to add some depth, but he didn’t get an at-bat until the bottom of the seventh in the championship game. With the game tied at 1, Gwillim took a 1-1 pitch deep to left and out of the park for the walk-off victory. Monroe won 2-1 over Weston-McEwen/Griswold for the state 2A/1A championship.
“I wasn’t expecting to hit a walk-off. I had no idea. I thought it was just popped up. My first base coach was like, ‘you hit it out.’ I didn’t believe him,” Gwillim told The Oregonian after the game.
Gwillim’s coach was asked about the decision to place the sophomore as a pinch-hitter, and at least he didn’t try to make himself sound smarter than he is.
“It wasn’t anything fancy other than Zach swings it well in practice, he works hard, so let’s give him a shot,” coach Bill Crowson said.
The move paid off, and Gwillim now has an unforgettable memory. What an awesome story.
Below is video of Gwillim’s interview with The Oregonian after the game:
H/T MaxPreps
