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Under protest, Newberg unable to fend off Scappoose in title game |
REEDVILLE — A Newberg
Senior American baseball team rebounded from a loss in the
semifinals to qualify Sunday for the title game of the Washington
County district tournament, but fell 6-2 to Scappoose.
Newberg (14-5 league, 26-12 overall) opened the tournament Saturday
with a 14-12 victory against Yamhill. Newberg then defeated by a 9-5
margin host Reedville, a team it had lost to twice earlier this
season.
Due to a storm that was thought to be coming in that day,
tournament organizers scheduled a third game — one where Newberg
would take on Scappoose in the semifinals. For Newberg, it was its
third consecutive game.
“The kids were a bit tired,” Newberg coach Steve Mayfield said.
The fatigue showed as Newberg fell 15-3. However, the loss was
played amidst controversy. Mayfield said Scappoose used an
ineligible player as a pitcher. He said that because he, along with
several other coaches in the Washington County league, had never
seen the player in uniform previously. One of the rules in Junior
Baseball of Oregon is that players must play in at least 50 percent
of a team’s games. This player, according to Mayfield, participated
in nine of Scappoose’s 19 league games.
“So basically he was a ringer and he pitched all the innings,”
Mayfield said.
Mayfield protested the game to the league, but his protest went for
naught. Instead, league officials ruled that the pitcher could not
play in any additional tournament games, but that first two games
Scappoose played would stand.
“That was a little tough,” Mayfield said.
Newberg moved on in the tournament Sunday, but Mayfield opted not
to tell his team about the situation.
“I kept it from the kids Saturday,” Mayfield said. “The last half
of the season, it was probably the best baseball they were playing.
I didn’t want to put this in their minds. I wanted them to play out
on the field.”
The team went on playing Sunday and faced Reedville again. Newberg
made it two wins in a row against Reedville with an 8-5 victory. The
win propelled Newberg into the championship game — against none
other than Scappoose. This time, the result wasn’t much different.
Newberg fell 6-2. |
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From July 28, 2007, Newberg Graphic
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