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Medford Americans win state title By Donovan Brink ONTARIO � With six outs left in their season, the Medford Americans faced a three-run deficit and long odds on bringing home Oregon�s 11- and 12-year-old Little League state tournament championship. That�s when the Americans got their spark. A four-run fifth inning, aided by two Gresham errors on one play, helped Medford rally for a 6-5 victory and the state championship at Ontario�s Beck Kiwanis Park Thursday afternoon. "This was a great tournament. Every game was up-and-down," Medford manager Jeff Adamson said. "These guys are the heartbreak kids, and they tried to break my heart today." The Medford Americans advance to the Little League United States West Regional Championships, which will be held Aug. 8-17 in San Bernardino, Calif. Gresham, which had come through the consolation bracket after losing to Medford in the second round Sunday, forced the deciding second game with a 4-2 eight-inning victory Thursday morning. "It was very disappointing," Medford�s Tyler Heil said of the morning loss. "We were all kind of bummed, but we came through. This is just awesome." "This is what we�ve done all season. When we�ve been down, these kids have come through," Adamson said. "We�ve been down quite a few times this season and these guys have found a way to win it." In the afternoon game, Gresham led 2-1 before Heil belted a solo homer to straight-away center to tie the game after three innings. The Nationals had a healthy cushion entering the bottom of the fifth inning, leading 5-2 behind a pair of two-run homers from Adam Medford and a solo homer by Donald Bard. That�s when Medford made its move.The Americans loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth, and pulled within 5-3 when Heil drew a run-scoring walk. Medford�s Tommy George then reached on an error that scored Ryan Folsom, and Zach James also scored on the play, tying the game when Gresham catcher Sam King dropped a throw at the plate from first baseman Greg Eldridge. George advanced to second on the chaotic play, took third on a wild pitch and scored on James Horsley�s infield single to give the Americans the lead. From there, George slammed the door on Gresham from the mound, striking out two Nationals batters in the top of the sixth to end the game. In all, George had seven strikeouts against just one walk. "We came from behind and Tommy threw a great game," Heil said. A trip to the regional championships broke a bit of a jinx for Medford, Adamson said. "It�s been a long, long time since we�ve had a team go this far," he said. "Two years ago, we were one out away from going to regionals and we lost to Murray Hill (Beaverton). It�s real nice to be going now." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA