Another tournament, another triumph for local baseball players.
The Mafia Baseball Club, a Pacific Northwest team, won their ticket to play in the Babe Ruth World Series. On July 13-17, the Mafia Baseball Club was the top finishing team in the Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament in Calgary, Alberta. Now, they’re going to Branson, Missouri. The Babe Ruth World Series is scheduled to begin on July 27 and run through August 5.
The Mafia Baseball Club of Oregon was formed in the summer of 2025 and is coached by Luke Roth and Mateo Vodjansky. Many of the Clatsop County athletes are familiar with Roth since his company, Mid-Major Media, that publishes on social media, covers many of the 4A-1A athletes throughout the state of Oregon. Roth said he started Mid-Major Media with the intention of highlighting the underrepresented athletes in smaller schools and communities across the state. His company is also a sponsor of the Mafia Baseball Club.
Mafia Baseball Club has roots in both Toledo, Washington and Northwest Oregon. The 2026 team features local athletes from Astoria, Warrenton, Seaside and Knappa, among others. Oliver Stevens (Knappa), Zephan Pierce (Warrenton), Sam Schacher (Astoria), Dallas Norris (Astoria) and Hayden Halsen (Seaside) all have spent parts of their summer playing with the team.
The graduated senior Pierce from Warrenton High School and incoming Knappa High School senior Stevens, had strong regional performances as both a pitcher and catcher. At the regional tournament in Calgary, Stevens spun a total of 7.2 innings and struck out 8, while Pierce hit .333 and had a .429 on base percentage.
According to Roth, most of the players on Mafia Baseball Club have the talent to play at the next level, so this club is designed to be a building block for them to continue to get extra reps and develop outside of the high school season. “Playing in the Babe Ruth World Series is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any baseball player,” Roth said in an email to The Astorian.
The club is currently fundraising to help cover the cost of sending the team to the World Series. They are currently holding a raffle for a chartered crabbing or fishing trip. To purchase tickets contact @Dara-Stevens-2 via Venmo.
Roth shared a Q&A he conducted with four of his team members with The Astorian. The following conversation has been lightly edited.
How has the summer gone for you so far?
Dallas Norris: This summer for me has been great so far as I have been able to train and workout for baseball day-to-day at my own pace, compared to during the school year.
Sam Schacher: Even though I couldn’t play all the games, I had a great summer playing with Mafia. In my couple of games, I got to play with and make new friends from other schools.
Hayden Halsen: The summer baseball with Mafia was so fun. I was only able to play a few games due to me being gone, but each one of them was great.
Oliver Stevens: So far this summer has been great for me. We’ve gotten the opportunity to travel all over to play some competitive baseball.
What do you like about the team?
Norris: The thing I’ve liked most about the last two years of summer is being on the Mafia baseball team because of the opportunity it gave me. Not only did I get to play baseball during the summer, but I also learned new mechanics and pitches that I normally wouldn’t be able to do. The people on that team are amazing, from the coaches to the players. It has been a wonderful experience to play with them.
Halsen: I got to meet a bunch of new people from different areas that were all pretty good at baseball. This opportunity also allowed me to get possible exposure.
Stevens: I really enjoy the group of guys and the bond we’ve created in such a short time. These guys are like family to me.
Why did you decide to play summer baseball?
Halsen: The competition was something good to experience and carry on next year. I’m glad I chose to play and I will be doing it again next summer.
Stevens: The reason I decided to play for Mafia was to play against more competitive competition and to try to get some exposure.
If you want to watch the Mafia Baseball Club play in the World Series in Branson, Missouri on July 27 – Aug. 5, the games will be live-streamed by the subscription streaming platform SportsEngine Play.
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