With the bases loaded and Helena trying to make a big comeback against Dillon, the Reps knew they had the right young man at the plate.

In the fifth inning of Sunday's game, Jake Harris stepped up and delivered.

";It was a fastball, a little above my belt and right down the middle," Harris said. ";I pulled it right over the right fielder's head."

The grand slam helped the Reps fight back to within five in the fifth inning, 13-8.

Granted, the homer ended up doing little to stop Dillon from doling out a 29-8 drubbing, but Reps head coach Brian Wieck still didn't hesitate to track the ball down.

";He's the first player ever to hit double-digit homers since I've been coaching the Reps," said Wieck, who's spent five years with the program. ";We bought the ball off of Dillon."

Not only did Harris' 10th home run of the season break new ground in the program's recent history, it also assured the rest of the state that the 17-year-old is among the most dangerous of Class A players heading into the district tournament in Deer Lodge on Thursday.

Harris leads his second-place squad with a .462 batting average, a .789 slugging average and has 102 hits.

The first baseman has also played in 69 of the team's 70 summer games, proving that since he was a young boy there's nowhere else he'd rather be than at the baseball diamond.

";Jake grew up watching his big brother (Nick) play and ever since he was a small child he's been into it," said his father, Bob Harris.";He grew up around the ballpark, so I guess you can say it's in his blood."

";I just try to fill my brother's shoes," Jake Harris said. ";We're always competing whether its baseball, hunting or who got the dirtiest, who's got the biggest scar; he always wins on that one."

Jake said that one time, when he was about 12, Nick came in to the dugout and warned him that if he didn't hit a home run he would lock his little brother in the closet.

";I didn't want to get locked in the closet," Jake said. ";I ended up bouncing one off the top of the wall."

Now, Nick gives him advice with his batting, whether he's dropping his hands too early or has a hole in his swing. While his big brother has certainly helped, Jake seems to have plenty of natural ability on his side.

Bob Harris said he realized his son had a good eye for the ball when he was just two years old.

";The first time we handed him a bat and threw a ball, he actually hit it," Bob Harris said ";We were kind of like 'Wow!' "

Harris' father also noticed something else rare about his son. When Jake threw the ball it was with his right hand. But, when he swung the bat, he did it left-handed.

Since it wasn't broke, nobody tried to fix Harris' swing.

Instead, they've embraced it.

Wieck moved the stocky kid, who stands around 5-foot-8, to the clean-up spot this season after he batted fifth last year. Harris has since proven to be a strong and versatile player, having moved from catcher to first base without a hitch.

Wieck said he's picked up speed during the offseason and would even predict he could be an outfielder for a college baseball team.

";I would say he's a contact guy that can spread it around the ballpark," the coach said. ";He's a Wade Boggs kind of guy, hit .300 and get his share of home runs."

Harris isn't afraid to get dirty, and though he certainly has the most power on the team, he's laid down sacrifice bunts when the coach has called for them.

";That's unselfish," Wieck said.

Of course, Harris was also the first player Wieck ever gave the greenlight to on a 3-0 pitch, a decision the coach didn't regret later.

";The first time I ever did it, he hit it out of the park," he said.

Harris' role on the team has also made him a leader even if he isn't the loudest on the field.

";I wouldn't call him a vocal leader, he just kind of leads by example," Wieck said. ";He kind of just gets the job done and is under the radar."

Still, ";He's the guy that when he says get up, they get up. He has the respect of the other players."

So, when Harris says he has a good feeling about this weekend's competition, which begins with a game against Butte, the West's No. 3-seeded team, his teammates are likely to listen.

";This season's been great. The whole team's been really coming together, everyone's friends on the team and nobody dislikes another on the team," he said. ";I think we could go to state and probably win this year."

Jeff Windmueller: 447-4065 or jeff.windmueller

@helenair.com