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Spanish Fork • Sophomore Cy Nielson lifted a solo home run over the left-field fence to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning to hand the Dons a 6-5 victory over Corner Canyon in the second round of the Class 4A state baseball tournament Wednesday.

Nielson said he had no idea where the ball was going when it came off his bat.

"I was just trying to get on base," he said. "I just ran like I normally do."

It was the first time in his career he finished a game that way, and it couldn't have come at a better time for the Dons.

Spanish Fork jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning but gave up five runs in the second.

But the Dons slammed shut the door after that. They plated two runs in the third and pulled even in the fifth.

And it was Nielsen, who had a pair of doubles earlier in the game, who capped the rally in a most dramatic way.

"A walk-off doesn't happen here much," Dons coach Casey Nelson said.

Nielson credited the defense and pitching for helping set the stage for the comeback.

"Our pitchers threw well and good defense kept us in the game," he said. "We had to make some great plays to hold them off."

No player was more critical to that defensive effort than shortstop Tanner Argyle, who got even more than his normally high share of balls and made some spectacular throws for outs that helped frustrate the Chargers offense.

"Defense wins championships," he said. "That's why we came out on top. We put our reps in at practice. We had one bad inning, but we fought back. Our pitchers came up big, too, and together we got it done."

"You can't ask for a better baseball game than that," Nelson said. "There were so many great plays made by both teams that could have affected the outcome one way or the other."

The Dons face the winner of Thursday's Salem Hills at Skyridge game that was moved a day because of the weather. The Chargers play Saturday night in an elimination game.

"We'll take it," Nelson said. "Dropping into the losers bracket in the second round is almost a death knell." —

Spanish Fork 6, Corner Canyon 5

R Spanish Fork wins on a walk-off home run in the ninth inning.

• The Dons (22-3) face the winner of Thursday's Salem Hills at Skyridge game that was postponed due to the weather.

• The Chargers will try to stave off elimination Saturday.

Class 4A state tournament

Wednesday's winners bracket scores

Spanish Fork 6, Corner Canyon 5

Timpanogos 5, Springville 0

Salem Hills at Skyridge (moved to Thursday)

Maple Mountain at Murray (moved to Thursday)

Wednesday's elimination bracket scores

Skyline 10, Ogden 4

Olympus at Bountiful (moved to Thursday)

Orem at Box Elder (moved to Thursday)

Judge Memorial at Woods Cross (moved to Thursday)

Monday's winners bracket quarterfinals

at Brent Brown Ballpark in Orem

4:30 p.m. • Spanish Fork vs. Salem Hills/Skyridge winner

7 p.m. • Maple Mountain/ Murray winner vs. Timpanogos