Pitchers Jared Miller and Lou Carr each won a pair of games, and their Parrish Little League team held off a last-ditch rally to defeat Murrayhill Little League 3-2 in the championship game of the 2002 Oregon state tournament at Holland Park in Salem.

Parrish had outscored three opponents by a 33-2 margin to reach the title game, but then struggled early against Murrayhill lefthander Mitch Matthews. Matthews struck out the side in the second inning, and added a pair of strikeouts in both the third and fourth innings.

"That was the best pitcher we faced in the tournament," said Parrish manager Dan Miller.

Parrish finally broke through in the fifth inning by piecing together a three-run rally without hitting a ball out of the infield. Eighth and ninth place hitters Anthony Kittson and Carr keyed the rally by drawing one-out walks, and Kittson scored the game's first run when he came around on an error following D.J. Hoffman's blooper just over the mound. Carr scored on Blake Miller's groundout, and Hoffman scored on Jarred Miller's infield single to deep short.

"You never know what's going to get you going," said Dan Miller. "Those walks opened the door for us and to our credit, we took advantage of it."

Carr, Parrish's starting pitcher, cruised through four innings before pinch hitter Alex Kordell's double to center field sliced the Salem team's lead to 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth. Dan Miller then called on reliever Jordan Nordlein, who stranded the tying run at second by inducing a pair of harmless fly balls.

In the sixth, Murrayhill leadoff batter Cameron Love drove the ball sharply into right field, only to be thrown out when an alert Xavier Cannefax fired a strike to first base to retire Love on a rare 9-3 groundout. Pinch hitter Michael Simich doubled to right center field later in the inning, but Nordlein induced a game-ending pop fly to give the Salem team its first ever state title.

Parrish opened the tournament by blanking St. Helens 7-0. Starting pitcher Jared Miller carried a no-hitter for 5-2/3 innings, and Kittson delivered a key pinch hit two-run double off the right field fence in the second inning to open up a 3-0 lead. Andrew Goodpaster's two-out, two-run double highlighted a four-run fifth inning that stretched the lead to 7-0, and Jared Miller (six strikeouts) allowed only one ball hit out of the infield as Parrish won their opening test.

Carr matched Jared Miller's effort in the winner's bracket semifinals, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth as Parrish thumped Brookings Harbor 13-2. Carr, who threw a two-hitter in Parrish's win over Leslie in the District 7 championship game, struck out eight and walked only two to pick up the first of his two tournament wins. Hoffman, Jared Miller and Goodpaster all doubled for Parrish.

Jared Miller then took charge as Parrish faced Medford American with a berth in the championship game at stake. Jared Miller induced eleven ground ball outs, allowed only two runners to reach scoring position, and held Medford to two hits as Parrish pulled away late in a 12-0 victory. The Salem team opened up a 3-0 lead after five innings before tallying nine runs in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach. Goodpaster homered twice in the inning, opening the inning with a two strike solo home run to center field, and capping the rally with a grand slam to right field.

“We told our kids coming into this game that one run could and will make the difference,” said Dan Miller after the game. “That’s what we were expecting. So (the nine run rally was) a pleasant surprise.”

Murrayhill, which defeated Parrish in the championship game of the 2000 Oregon state tournament in the 9-10 year old division, reached the championship game despite an opening round loss. District 5 champion Bend North upended Murrayhill 3-2 in the tournament's opening game, before the Beaverton-based team rebounded with four consecutive wins. Murrayhill shut out La Grande and Brookings Harbor before overpowering Clackamas 12-2 and downing Medford American 7-4 in loser's bracket contests.

Parrish's championship game win gave the Salem area its second consecutive state champion, and advanced the District 7 representative to the Northwest Region tournament in San Bernardino, California. Parrish rebounded from an 0-2 start with a pair of wins, including a 4-1 victory over eventual region champion Waipio Little League (Waipahu, Hawaii), before falling 6-4 to Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Little League in the semifinal round.