Oregon’s Murrayhill Little League Wins Northwest Region in Extra Innings, Advances to 2006 Little League Baseball World Series

Print

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (Aug. 13, 2006) – It took seven innings, a bases-loaded walk, and a game-ending double play for Murrayhill Little League of Beaverton, Ore., to defeat Dimond-West Little League from Anchorage, Alaska, 5-4, in the Northwest Region Championship game Sunday night at Al Houghton Stadium in San Bernardino, Calif.

With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, Murrayhill Little League’s Bryan Domogalla reached second base on a throwing error. After an infield single and intentional walk loaded the bases, Trevor Nix drew a walk, forcing Domogalla home with the eventual winning run.

Leading 5-4, with one out in the bottom half of the inning, Dimond-West Little League’s Tyler Thompson singled to right field. The next batter, Trace Woodruff hit a line drive to Murrayhill first baseman Devon DeJardin who caught the ball and touched first base for a game-ending double play.

Murrayhill Little League had jumped to a quick 2-0 lead as starting pitcher Jace Fry led off the game with a solo home run and Derek Keller also hit a home run in the first inning. The Oregon state champions were up 3-1 through three innings, but Dimond-West Little League, making its fourth consecutive appearance in the Northwest Region Tournament, scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead. Starting pitcher Kyle Kornegay hit a run-scoring double and Matthew Ilalio followed with a double that scored Kornegay. Sagan Osborne gave the team from Alaska its only lead, scoring on a wild pitch.

Fry and Kornegay worked the first six innings, but did not figure in the pitching decision as each reached their maximum six innings. Fry struck out 12 batters, while Kornegay recorded seven strikeouts.

By winning the Northwest Region Championship, Murrayhill Little League, 15-0 overall, finished the six-team tournament with a 6-0 record, and becomes the second team from the state of Oregon to qualify for the Little League Baseball World Series. The other, Rose City Little League from Portland, played in the 1958 World Series and did not reach the world championship game.

Murrayhill Little League joins Lemont (Ill.) Little League; Portsmouth (N.H.) Little League; Ahwatukee Little League of Pheonix, Ariz.; Daniel Boone National Little League of Columbia, Mo.; Whalley Little League of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada; South Lake Charles Little League of Lake Charles, La.; Columbus Northern Little League of Columbus, Ga.; Arabian American Little League of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; Brateevo Little League of Moscow, Russia; Cardenales Little League of Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela; Pabao Little League of Willemstad, Curacao; Matamoros Little League of Taumalipas, Mexico; Kawaguchi City Little League of Kawaguchi City, Japan; and Saipan Little League from Saipan, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as participants in the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series.

The Little League Baseball World Series for 11-12-year-olds will be played in Williamsport, Aug. 18-27. Sixteen teams from around the world will take part.

ABC will televise the Little League Baseball World Series U.S. championship game on Aug. 26, at 3:30 p.m. The world championship game of the Little League Baseball World Series can be seen live on ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Aug. 27. Twenty-seven other World Series games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 for a total of 29 games on national television. Eleven World Series games also will be televised on ESPN Deportes. For the second straight year, all 32 games of the Little League Baseball World Series tournament will be on television.

The final berth in the 60th Little League Baseball World Series will be decided on Monday when the Mid-Atlantic Region Tournament in Bristol, Conn., is scheduled to end. The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

For more information on the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series log on to: www.littleleagueworldseriesonline.org