Murrayhill Majors are still hoping for title shot

The local all-stars drop their opener, then get hot at the state tourney

By Miles Vance

The Beaverton Valley Times, Jul 29, 2010, Updated Jul 29, 2010

Miles Vance / Beaverton Valley Times

‘Z MAN’ — Murrayhill’s Zach Pittmon (left) celebrates with teammate Sam Noyer after scoring during his team’s 14-4 win over St. Helens on Monday at Holland Youth Park in the Little League Majors State Tournament.

SALEM — Murrayhill may have started the Little League Majors Baseball State Tournament with a resounding thud, but the Beaverton all-stars are determined not to finish that way.

Murrayhill, the District 4 champion, opened the state tournament at Holland Youth Park with an 8-6 loss to Reynolds on Saturday, but rebounded impressively after that, hammering Medford American 12-5 on Sunday, t. Helens 14-4 on Monday and Pendleton 6-3 on Wednesday.

At 3-1 after its Wednesday win, Murrayhill advances to the tournament semifinals against Cascade at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday). The tournament championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.

“If we play the way we’re capable of, we’ll come back and win it all,” said Murrayhill catcher Sam Noyer, who went 2-for-3 at the plate, drove in three and scored three times on Monday.

“We just have to play good defense,” added center fielder Bryce Roesch, who went 3-for-4 and scored three times on Monday. “If we play defense, we’ll win the championship.”

Murrayhill certainly looked championship-ready on Monday against St. Helens (0-3), banging out 11 hits in four innings and getting a four-hitter from pitchers Andrew Carter and Cameron Nowack. Indeed, the only shortcoming in its Monday win came defensively, where Murrayhill committed three errors and allowed two unearned runs.

“I’m still concerned about our defense,” said Murrayhill manager Craig Nelsen. “It’s not as crisp as it was at district. Part of that’s due to the competition, but it needs to shape up.”

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