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Sprague LL never advanced beyond states prior to 2019

Salem may be Oregon’s second-largest city, but it often appeared small on the Little League Baseball scale. The population approaches 165,000, but Salem features only five Little League programs.

Not surprisingly, the Sprague Little League in Salem did not have much history entering the 2019 season. It had never won a state championship and powerhouses like Murrayhill often crushed its dreams.

But now the Sprague Little League is as big as it gets. These all-stars made history when they won that elusive state championship late last month, but did not stop there. A Northwest Regional championship followed and now everyone is finding out how good this team is as it competes at the Little League World Series.

“Living in the West, I’d often watch the West Regional games and when I walked into the stadium in San Bernardino, I was like, ‘holy cow! We’re here and now to be here and to get to play catch with my son on the main field (Lamade Stadium), you’re fighting the tears because this is huge,” Salem manager Travis Price said. “I’ve literally watched these games for 15-20 years and was always kind of like, ‘there’s no way.’ I don’t think you can really plan for something like that. This whole thing … it’s an honor.”

That goes double when one’s league has never advanced beyond states. Five Oregon teams had competed at the Series since 2006, including three this decade. Murrayhill was the U.S. runner-up in 2006, but Salem never whiffed the Series.

Then this coaching staff and these playes came along. Price moved into the area two years ago and started coaching a team that played a lot of travel-ball games and grew closer as a unit. Price built a 2,200 square foot hitting facility and players took full advantage. This Series journey really began last Nov. 22 when the players took their initial swings there.

“They’ve had many practices and I remember only a couple times when somebody was missing because of sickness or some other reason. They are very dedicated and very loyal,” Sprague Little League President Tony Strenke said. “For being 12 years old, these kids are very mature and grown up.”

Strenke’s son Brady is one of the Salem’s players and believed something big was coming the more he and his teammates practiced. The Series still was not really on the radar, but making history was.

“I remember talking to my son before the season even started and he said, ‘Dad, if we’re going to do it, this is the year. I asked him what he meant and he said we’re going to win states,” Strenke said. “He didn’t say anything about regionals, but we had come in third the last two years in states and he said this is the year we’re going to do it.”

Others doubted that. Some state qualifiers already had made reservations for San Bernardino before playing in states. Salem lets its play do the talking and finally slayed the Murrayhill behemoth that had blocked its path so many times before. Salem had never beaten Murrayhill before this season and lost 8-0 to it a year ago. Salem started exorcizing the demons with a 3-2 winner’s bracket final victory against Murrayhill.

Fittingly, Murrayhill was the last obstacle standing in Salem’s path, meeting up with it again in the state final. The game again was exciting and went back and forth, but Salem again triumphed and won, 9-8. The dream was complete at that point. Everything since has been a bonus.

“When we won states I never saw that many people crying. I was fighting back to, but I was surprised by their reaction,” Price said. “We had a brief meeting and I told them San Bernardino is a huge deal for us, but right there on the field I also told them let’s keep everything in perspective. Everything is gravy from here on out. We had fun in San Bernardino and we never talked about regionals.”

It is a cliche, but Salem truly did use a one game at a time approach. The thing was, as Salem kept winning it grew more confident. Hard-fought wins against Montana and Idaho suddenly had it in the Northwest final, a victory from achieving the ultimate Little League dream.

Price had never mentioned winning the championship, but his first day in San Bernardino he bought a Northwest jersey, a replica worn by that champion at the Series. Before facing defending champion Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, he held up the jersey and showed the players exactly what they were pursuing.

This upward climb that the Sprague Little Leaguers have made has not been an easy one and this game was not either. Idaho was an out from repeating before Henry Mhoon made one of the smartest plays in Northwest Regional history and stole home when the pitcher lost his focus on the mound and looked away. An error allowed the go-ahead run in and Gavin Price closed out the victory as Salem became one of the country’s top eight teams. And with four 11-year olds on this team and aspiring players eager to build on this success, this might just be a start.

It does not get much bigger than that.

“This league had never won a state title, much less a regional so it’s pretty awesome,” Price said. “We put in a ton of work, but we never really talk about wins and losses. We don’t forecast that. We talk about attitude, approach, intensity and toughness. We control what we can control and whatever happens, happens.”

“I’ve been on the board for eight years and this is my last year. To see this happen is a dream come true for the kids, but also a dream come true for me too. It’s my last year and I’m going out on top,” Strenke said. “It’s emotional to watch these boys do what they’re doing. It’s incredible.”

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