Devin DeJardin's theory was elegantly straightforward.

"You know you'll have a story," the Murrayhill Little League (Beaverton, Oregon) all-star team member suggested as his team prepared for the Oregon state tournament. "So you might as well get far so you'll have a good story to tell. I want to get to San Bernardino. I want to be a part of it so I can look back when I'm older and say 'yeah, I did that.'"

San Bernardino -- home of Little League Baseball's Northwest Region tournament -- is a familiar setting for Murrayhill. The perennial Oregon contender is something of a regular in the Inland Empire city, with eight state championships in a thirteen year span entering the 2006 international tournament. But in each of the prior three years, Murrayhill's visits to Al Houghton Stadium ended with an achingly close semifinal round loss: a heartbreaking ten inning decision against West Valley Little League (Eagle, Idaho) in 2005, and narrow defeats against Richland National (Washington) and West Oahu (Ewa Beach, Hawaii) Little League teams that ultimately reached the Little League World Series.

Murrayhill is usually in the hunt as Oregon's tournament heats up, and the Beaverton league's 2006 edition returned two key contributors from the prior year's team. But after Murrayhill's 8-0 whitewash of North Boise (Idaho) Little League in the region tournament's opening game, manager Jeff Keller pointed to something easily overlooked by observers who simply saw the same uniforms from the same league in the same Portland suburb on a seemingly annual basis.

"We're a much different team than last year," said the Oregon manager.

That meant DeJardin and his teammates would have a story for the ages.

Murrayhill won all six of its games at the 2006 Northwest Region tournament, including a 5-4, seven inning victory over Dimond-West Little League (Anchorage, Alaska) in the championship game. With the win, Murrayhill became the second Oregon league ever to advance to the Little League World Series, and the first since Portland's Rose City Little League in 1958.

Jace Fry figured heavily in Murrayhill's storybook finish, particularly in the final game. The left-hander led off the game with a home run -- against North Boise he had homered on the first pitch thrown to a Murrayhill hitter in the tournament -- and later sealed the win by snaring a line drive down the first base line and converting it into a tournament-ending unassisted double play. In between, Fry struck out twelve batters and allowed just five hits before switching positions as the game headed into extra innings, and then was issued an intentional walk that helped lead to the game's decisive run.

"We call Jace 'The Iceman'," said Jeff Keller of his pitcher/first baseman. "He's one of the most relaxed kids I've seen."

Murrayhill built an early lead in the championship game. Derek Keller followed Fry's opening salvo by slicing a solo home run off the foul pole in right field in the first, and another run scored on a throwing error following Bryan Domogalla's bunt in the second. But Dimond-West rallied to take the lead, before the Oregon champions used two out rallies to pull even in the fifth and take the lead in the seventh.

Austin Perry doubled in the Murrayhill fifth, and moved to third on Domogalla's single before scoring on a two out, two strike wild pitch. In the seventh, Domogalla reached on a throwing error after the first two batters were retired. He advanced on Corey Pool's infield single, then Dimond-West elected to load the bases by intentionally walking the white-hot Fry (.556 average with four home runs in the tournament). Trevor Nix worked the count full, then drew a walk on a pitch just outside the strike zone to force in the go-ahead run.

"We had walked some people intentionally throughout the tournament to get to this point," said Dimond-West manager Brad Lauwers. "It had worked before, but we knew what the risk was."

Lauwers' team, which reached the championship game by avenging a pool loss to Kent (Washington) Little League, had taken the lead with a three-run rally in the fourth. Garrett Brown opened the inning with a single, then scored on Kyle Kornegay's double. Matthew Ilalio followed with another run-scoring double to tie the game, and Sagan Osborne later scored on a wild pitch.

Dimond-West, which doesn't start its regular season until May due to inclement weather conditions, was the first Alaska league ever to advance to a regional championship game in the major baseball division.

"They've gone farther than anyone else (from Alaska)", said Lauwers. "That's a pretty special deal."

Jeff Keller empathized with a Dimond-West team that pressed Murrayhill to the limit in the tourney's final game.

"I'm as much saddened for the Alaska kids and how they poured their hearts out as I am excited for our kids," said the Oregon manager after the championship game.

Fry gave Murrayhill reason for excitement in the tournament's opening game, when his curtain-raising home run helped his team to an early 2-0 lead against North Boise. Murrayhill added four more in the second, but the early runs were all Fry would need in an eleven strikeout effort.

"We've never faced a lefty with a hook like that," said North Boise manager Rory Jones after his team managed just one hit against the Beaverton pitcher. "With his 75 mile-per-hour fastball and a 55 mile-per-hour curve, (he) is definitely an elite level pitcher."

The next day, Murrayhill flipped the power switch, battering Dimond-West for three home runs and six runs in the fourth inning of a 10-2 victory. Oregon led 3-2 after three innings when Lauwers elected to remove Brown from the mound, and Fry, DeJardin, and Derek Keller all cleared the fences in the ensuing inning. The first five hitters in Murrayhill's batting order finished a combined 10-for-18 in the game, with seven runs scored and nine RBIs. Trevor Nix and Sam Albert each had a pair of hits, and DeJardin allowed only three hits over the first five innings to earn the win.

Lauwers saw a silver lining in two of his teams' hits, solo home runs from Brown in the first inning and Tyler Thompson in the third.

"In previous trips here, we only hit two home runs," said the Alaska manager, who piloted Dimond-West to the region tournament for the fourth consecutive year. "So to hit two in one game is an accomplishment."

By the end of the tournament, the Alaskans tallied six home runs, and both Ilalio and Osborne had joined their teammates in the longball club.

Murrayhill's three home runs were a prelude to the three they would hit two days later in a 12-1, four inning victory over Laramie (Wyoming) Little League. Keller gave Murrayhill an early lead with a two-run homer in the first, and after the Oregonians widened the lead with four runs in the second, Miguel Rivera hit the first of his two home runs on the day to spark a five-run rally.

"We jumped on them right in the first inning and didn't let up," said Jeff Keller, whose team scored in every inning and also reaped the benefits of Derek Keller's nine strikeout, one-hit pitching performance.

"I've been around twelve years," added the Oregon skipper. "And I've never seen a team like this. They are focused beyond belief."

Murrayhill's focus helped it battle through its next two games, both wins over Missoula Southside (Montana) Little League. Fry threw a two-hitter and his team capitalized on five Montana errors in Murrayhill's 6-3 pool victory, then the Oregon champions withstood a late push in a 10-8 semifinal round win two days later. The win vaulted Murrayhill into a championship game for the first time in its nine region tournament appearances.

Missoula opened up a 4-2 lead in the third inning of the semifinal round game -- it was the first time in five games at San Bernardino that Murrayhill trailed after having batted -- but the Oregon champions responded with a seven run effort in the bottom of the inning. DeJardin's run-scoring double tied the game, then third baseman Toma Matisoff pulled his team into the lead with a three-run homer.

Murrayhill stretched the lead to 9-4, but Southside responded, scoring twice in the fourth and adding two more in the fifth on Riley King's bases-loaded double off the fence. King's drive barely stayed in the park, and the would-be tying run was thrown out at the plate to help Murrayhill escape the inning.

Fry, who scored three times in the win, added an insurance run with a solo home run in the fifth in his only official at-bat.

"Crazy game," said Jeff Keller after the two teams combined for 14 hits and 13 walks. "I haven't been involved in one like that before."

"We're about an inch away from a grand slam and a 10-9 lead," said Montana manager Bob King after his team's late push came up just short.

"They're a good hitting team, and they had some big hits," added the Montana manager. "But I'm so proud of my kids for the way they hung in there."

Dimond-West also hung tough, avenging a 6-4 pool loss to Kent (Washington) Little League in a 1-0 semifinal round win. Brown struck out fourteen batters and allowed three hits one year after giving up six runs in one-plus innings in his only pitching appearance. The right-hander grew six inches and added 20 pounds in between the two visits to San Bernardino.

"He was incredible today," said Lauwers. "He came up big whenever he needed to."

Washington stranded two or more baserunners on four different occasions in the game.

"It's tough to win without any runs," said Washington manager Scott McGuire. "Their pitcher pitched a good game. We just couldn't catch up to his fastball."

Dimond-West scored the game's only run in the third inning. Osborne hit a hard shot to first base with the bases loaded and one out. Kent's first baseman stepped on first to retire the batter, then threw home, but not in time to retire Thompson, who had led off the inning with a single.

Kent pitcher Taylor Jones struck out seven and did not allow an earned run in a complete game effort.

Murrayhill's title game win over Dimond-West extended the league's summer, and also capped a stellar year for Oregon baseball in general. Just before the start of the international tournament, Oregon State University won six consecutive elimination games to earn the College World Series championship in Omaha, Nebraska. OSU's roster included a pair of names familiar to the Murrayhill community: Beavers' shortstop Darwin Barney and pitcher Rob Summers each homered as members of Murrayhill's all-star team in the 1998 Oregon state championship game. That team, like other Murrayhill contingents both before and after, made a strong showing in San Bernardino, but the teams' hopes died in the scorching San Bernardino heat.

Throughout the international tournament, Jeff Keller used a metaphor to keep his team focused on the task at hand. The team was writing a book, he said, and each tournament was simply a new chapter.

"We're taking it page by page, and chapter by chapter," said the Oregon manager at the region tournament.

That book would tell the story of Devin DeJardin and his teammates' summer. It started among local competition at Alpenrose Stadium in Portland, and ended in Central Pennsylvania before a 25,000-strong crowd and a national television audience. Murrayhill followed its triumph in San Bernardino by reaching the United States championship game at the Little League World Series.

But that finish is more than just another chapter in the big book of Murrayhill baseball.

It's another story to tell.

Linescores:

Pool Play Game 1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
North Boise (Idaho)	0	0	0	0	0	0			0	1	3
Murrayhill (Oregon)	2	4	1	0	1	x			8	9	1
Pool Play Game 2
Missoula Southside (Montana)	0	0	0	2	1	1			4	6	0
Kent (Washington)	0	0	0	2	0	0			2	6	2
Pool Play Game 3
North Boise (Idaho)	0	2	3	0	3	0			8	6	1
Laramie (Wyoming)	0	0	0	1	0	0			1	4	6
Pool Play Game 4
Dimond-West (Alaska)	1	0	1	0	0	0			2	3	2
Murrayhill (Oregon)	2	0	1	6	1	x			10	10	0
Pool Play Game 5
Dimond-West (Alaska)	4	0	2	1	1	0			8	10	0
Missoula Southside (Montana)	3	0	0	0	2	0			5	5	0
Pool Play Game 6
Laramie (Wyoming)	0	0	0	0	0				0	0	2
Kent (Washington)	2	0	4	0	4				10	7	0
Pool Play Game 7
Dimond-West (Alaska)	0	0	0	4	0	0			4	5	0
North Boise (Idaho)	0	0	0	1	0	0			1	4	0
Pool Play Game 8
Murrayhill (Oregon)	2	4	5	1					12	8	1
Laramie (Wyoming)	0	0	0	1					1	1	2
Pool Play Game 9
Murrayhill (Oregon)	2	2	0	2	0	0			6	8	2
Missoula Southside (Montana)	1	0	0	0	2	0			3	2	5
Pool Play Game 10
Kent (Washington)	0	5	8	0					13	12	1
North Boise (Idaho)	0	0	0	1					1	2	2
Pool Play Game 11
Laramie (Wyoming)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1		2	5	2
Missoula Southside (Montana)	0	0	0	1	0	0	2		3	4	0
Pool Play Game 12
Dimond-West (Alaska)	2	0	0	0	2	0			4	6	0
Kent (Washington)	3	0	0	0	1	2			6	11	2
Semifinal Round
Kent (Washington)	0	0	0	0	0	0			0	3	1
Dimond-West (Alaska)	0	0	1	0	0	x			1	6	0
Semifinal Round
Missoula Southside (Montana)	2	0	2	2	2	0			8	6	0
Murrayhill (Oregon)	1	1	7	0	1	x			10	8	1
Championship Game
Murrayhill (Oregon)	2	1	0	0	1	0	1		5	11	0
Dimond-West (Alaska)	1	0	0	3	0	0	0		4	6	4

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