After teammate leaves in ambulance, Sherwood rallies for dramatic playoff victory

“Our guys came together and said, ‘This game’s for Matthew!’”

The Bowmen players mob senior Connor Parry after his walk-off home run in the team’s state playoff win over West Salem. / Dan Brood

SHERWOOD — Adversity.

It can be tough — especially when part of that adversity is in the form of an injured teammate.

Yes, adversity can be tough. What’s tougher? Well, there’s Connor Parry and his teammates on the Sherwood baseball team.

The Bowmen, after trailing 1-0 most of the way and watching senior teammate Matthew Burlingame be taken away in an ambulance after taking a pitch to the cheek (nearly straight in the face), rallied to get a 4-1 win over West Salem, with Parry blasting a three-run walk-off homer with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, in a Class 6A state playoff first-round game Monday at Sherwood High School.

“With Matthew getting hit in the face — obviously, you never want to see that happen — our guys came together and said, ‘This game’s for Matthew,’” Parry said after the Bowmen’s postgame celebration. “He’s been a senior leader for us, he’s our boy, and we knew we had to rally for him. It brought us all together. Going through the game, we knew we had to do it for him. The first thing he was asking in the hospital was, ‘Did we win?’”

Sherwood senior Connor Parry yells as he circles the bases after his walk-off three-run homer in the Bowmen’s 4-1 state playoff win over West Salem. / Dan Brood

“Definitely, when that fourth inning happened, and one of our guys took it off the face, it was scary,” Sherwood junior first baseman Alex Lopez said. “But we were just playing for him those last couple of innings. We just stuck by our brothers and kept playing our absolute hardest.”

Sherwood, the No. 4 seed in the Class 6A playoffs, improved to 23-5. The Bowmen advanced to the second round of the state playoffs, where they’ll play host to Sprague on Wednesday.

“We’re looking to win all the way to state, but we’re taking it one game at a time,” first-year Sherwood coach Eddie Kunz said. “That’s the biggest thing right now. We’ll wait until the next one, see who we play, and we’ll go from there.”

“We’re just going to keep figuring out ways to create chaos,” Lopez said. “That’s been one of our favorite things this year — creating chaos.”

Sherwood freshman Drew Schmidt steals second base as West Salem senior shortstop Aiden Rock makes a tag in Monday’s Class 6A state playoff game. / Dan Brood

It also doesn’t hurt to have a player like Parry on the roster.

The University of Portland commit not only had the walk-off home run in Monday’s win, but he was also dominant on the mound. In a complete-game performance, he gave up just three hits, striking out 13 and walking two.

“Connor was huge,” Kunz said. “On the mound, he was a bulldog, getting all the way through, and then getting the big swing on the new pitcher that came out. It was perfect timing for that. Connor is a great kid — great heart, and he just loves the game of baseball. You can see it in the way he battles every day. It’s awesome to see.”

Sherwood senior Connor Parry fires a pitch to the plate in the Bowmen’s 4-1 first-round state playoff win over West Salem. Parry struck out 13. / Dan Brood

“That kid’s awesome. That kid’s a monster,” Lopez said. “He came out here not talking in the pregame at all. That’s not like him. He’s usually joking, cracking a couple jokes with all of us. He just locked in today after that first inning. That’s usually how it is with him. They can scrape in one, but he’s locked in for the rest of the game.”

Yes, the determined Parry seemed to be totally focused, even before the first pitch.

“I knew what was at stake in this game,” Parry said. “I needed to bring my best stuff. I kept quiet, kept to myself, and I needed to deliver for my guys.”

Still, Sherwood found itself facing an early 1-0 deficit, as West Salem senior Aiden Rock hit a leadoff single and scored on a two-out single by senior Tyson Ward in the top of the first inning.

“I told myself when I got back to the dugout, that was going to be the only runner to score all game,” Parry said. “It was just that competitor in me. I knew I wasn’t going to let them score again.”

The Titans didn’t.

Sherwood senior second baseman Peyton Nash makes a throw to first base during the Bowmen’s 4-1 win over West Salem in Monday’s state playoff game. / Dan Brood

But for a while, neither did the Bowmen, who found it difficult to get their offense going against West Salem senior starting pitcher Chase Garland.

Sherwood was able to break through in the bottom of the fourth inning — following a scary, scary moment.

After senior catcher Carson Miller drew a leadoff walk, Burlingame came to the plate, looking to put down a sacrifice bunt. When he squared up, the pitch was coming at his head, hitting the Sherwood senior in the cheek with a loud, sickening thud.

The game was delayed nearly a half-hour, with Burlingame eventually being taken away by ambulance. (Reportedly, he was conscious throughout, his vitals were fine, and the trip to the hospital was precautionary.)

Sherwood junior Gavyn Murphy puts down a bunt single in the fourth inning of the Bowmen’s 4-1 playoff win over West Salem. / Dan Brood

After play resumed, the Bowmen were able to get their first run. Junior Gavyn Murphy put down a bunt single to load the bases with no outs. Courtesy runner Drew Schmidt scored from third when senior Kolby Stevenson grounded into a double play, tying the score at 1-1.

The score remained tied going to the seventh inning. The Titans, taking advantage of an error and a walk, had runners on first and second with no outs. But a pickoff by Miller, Parry’s 13th strikeout of the game and a popout to junior shortstop Landon Brown got Sherwood out of the jam and gave the Bowmen the opportunity they needed.

Brown reached first base on a West Salem error with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Senior Sam Hunt drew a two-out walk. Parry came to the plate, facing a relief pitcher as Garland reached his pitch limit.

Parry sent the second pitch he saw over the left-field fence for his walk-off game-winner.

“I just needed to get the run in any way I could. I struggled earlier in the game, struck out, popped up,” Parry said. “He threw a first-pitch heater inside, and I took it. I told myself, ‘If he throws it again, I’m going to get my barrel head out and deliver,’ and I did. I didn’t know if it was going to be a wall-scraper or what. I was just kind of watching it, hoping it was going to fly, and when it did, I was so excited. I was just thinking, ‘Do it for Sherwood, do it for Matthew.’”

Parry’s home run ignited a wild Bowmen victory celebration.

“These guys just have big hearts, and they’re just put together as a family right now, and it’s awesome to watch them play baseball,” Kunz said. “They’re just resilient. Yes, we’ve had our games where we’re kind of blowing out teams here and there, but the biggest thing for us is in those close games, we find a way to win. Whether it’s the right bunt goes down or the right guy steps up to the plate and hits a liner in the gap or, in instance of today, the right guy steps up and hits a ball over the fence.”

Sherwood junior James Thorne dumps a bucket of water on senior Connor Parry after the Bowmen’s 4-1 playoff win over West Salem. / Dan Brood

Parry went 2 for 4. Brown also went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Murphy and Stevenson had one hit apiece.

For West Salem, Garland gave up one earned run on five hits, striking out 12 and walking two in six and two-thirds innings. Rock went 2 for 3.

The Titans finished their season 10-17.

“It’s been kind of a theme for us this year — we never quit,” Lopez said. “We’ve been in a lot of games this year when we’ve been down 1-0, 2-0 in the late innings, and we just never quit. We stick together. We’re really family-oriented. That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day.”

“This is awesome. Having an inexperienced group and doing this is Round 1, it’s awesome,” Parry said. “You can’t burn down the forest.”

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