After the 2002 Oregon state championship game in Salem, Parrish Little League manager Dan Miller called Murrayhill left-hander Mitch Mathews the best pitcher his team had faced en route to the state championship.

Unfortunately for the other 106 Oregon Little League charters, Mathews was eleven years old at the time.

Murrayhill and Mathews returned to the state tournament in 2003, and Mathews opened and closed the tournament with shutouts as Murrayhill swept past five opponents to win the Oregon state championship at Hermiston.

Mathews tossed a two-hitter in Murrayhill's 10-0 rout of Medford American Blue in the opening round, and then returned to throw a three-hitter as Murrayhill topped Gresham National 3-0 in the championship game.

The title game win gave Murrayhill a record sixth state championship in the major baseball division, one more than sister league Raleigh Hills Little League.

Murrayhill was in control throughout the tournament, outscoring opponents by a 29-2 margin. In the process, the District 4 champions defeated each of the tournament's other semifinalists by a combined 17-1 margin.

Ten of those runs came in Murrayhill's mercy-rule victory over Medford American Blue in the opening round of pool competition. Mathews allowed five baserunners in the first two innings, but settled down to strike out twelve and walk only two while holding Medford to two hits. In the meantime, Murrayhill's offense rapped out eight hits and scored in every inning. Trevor Harman, Andy Michaud, and Mathews each had doubles for the victors.

Murrayhill notched its second shutout the next day, blanking Bend South 7-0. Austin Cheeks threw the first three innings as four Murrayhill pitchers combined on a three-hitter. Mathews drilled a two-run homer in the first, and Murrayhill added one in the third before breaking the game open with a four-run fourth inning outburst. Kirk Werhane's RBI single and Garrett Scruggs' two-run single capped the Murrayhill rally. Werhane was 3-for-4, while Mathews and Kevin Rowles added a pair of hits each to pace Murrayhill's eleven hit attack.

Murrayhill extended their winning streak with a 5-1 win over Pendleton in their final pool game. Pendleton took an early 1-0 lead, but Ryan Nichols and Mitch Wise combined to hold the District 3 champions to four hits as Murrayhill rallied for the win. Harman gave Murrayhill the lead with a two-run double in the fifth, and later scored on a passed ball. Wise added an RBI single in the sixth before Murrayhill's final run scored on an error.

While Murrayhill's strong pitching controlled one pool, Gresham National's did the same in the other. Gresham managed only two hits but rode the strong three-hit pitching of Matthew Pechmann to a 4-1 win over St. Helens in the first round, and used the same formula in a 5-1 win over Keizer American in their next outing. Nick Ingram registered a two-hitter and drilled a home run against Keizer, while Cory Frank also homered for Gresham.

The next day, it was Andy Smith's turn. Smith scattered five hits in a complete game effort, and Ingram and Keith Richardson homered for Gresham in a 9-0 win over Roseburg Black. Gresham led 1-0 after three innings before scoring three runs in the fourth inning and adding five more in the top of the fifth to clinch first place in the pool.

Gresham received more stellar pitching in their semifinal round matchup with Medford American Blue, but needed a late rally to reach the championship game. Jordan Ellis' solo home run in the top of the fifth gave Medford a 2-0 lead, but Gresham rallied for four in the top of the sixth to pull out a 4-3 win. Ingram and Smith singled, and Richardson walked to load the bases before an untimely Medford error allowed all three baserunners to score. Medford added a run in the bottom of the inning before Pechmann (ten strikeouts) wrapped up the win and sent Gresham to the state championship game for the third time in nine years.

Only once in that nine-year span did the title game not feature either Murrayhill or Gresham National, so it was fitting that both clubs gained the final at Hermiston. Unlike Gresham's late-inning heroics, Murrayhill did all of its damage early in a 4-1 semifinal round win over Keizer American. Errors again made the difference, as Murrayhill played error-free defense, while Keizer committed three of its five errors during Murrayhill's four-run first inning outburst.

Murrayhill manager Mark Harman pointed out that, despite the miscues, both teams played strong defense.

"If you'd seen the defensive plays on both sides -- there were probably five line drives where people left their feet to make plays. It was amazing," said Harman after the game.

Cheek and Kevin Rowles were the main beneficiaries of Murrayhill's defensive efforts, combining on a five-hitter and limiting Keizer to a single run. Grant Hedrick singled with two outs in the third, moved to second on a walk, and scored on Grant Kessel's RBI single. Cheek stemmed the rally, and Rowles came on to record the final six outs for Murrayhill.

The semifinal results set up a rematch of the 1995 Oregon state championship game, when Murrayhill defeated Gresham National 5-1. Mathews ensured a similar outcome in the rematch, striking out nine and throwing a complete game to lead Murrayhill to a 3-0 victory.

Murrayhill opened the scoring in the third inning, when Rowles' single down the third base line drove in Garrett Scriggs. Taylor Noyer later opened the sixth inning with a single before scoring on Harman's home run over the center field fence. Harman, Rowles, and Werhane all had two hits for Murrayhill.

Murrayhill advanced to the Northwest Region tournament in San Bernardino, California, following its state tournament victories. Murrayhill won three of its four pool games before dropping a 4-2 decision to eventual tournament champion Richland National (Washington) Little League in the semifinal round.