Grant senior Kaeden Cruse, right, high fives head coach Matt Kabza after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against Jesuit in the 6A state baseball semifinals June 3 at Jesuit High School.

Grant and Sunset High School will battle it out for the 6A Oregon high school baseball state title at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7 at Roto Rooter Field in Keizer, formerly known as Volcanoes Stadium.

The Generals haven’t been to a state title game since 1958, which is also the last time the Generals hoisted the first-place trophy. Meanwhile the Apollos made the title game last year but came up short, so they’re looking for their first title since 1994.

No matter the victory, it’ll be their first baseball title this century, so needless to say, both sides have some extra motivation to get this done for their program.

We take a quick look at some of the names and what to expect come first pitch down in Keizer.

On the mound

For Grant, the likely starter is senior Cooper Yudhishthu as he’s dominated all regular season and through the postseason.

The PIL Pitcher of the Year, Yudhishthu has an ERA of 1.92 this season in 65.2 innings pitched, along with 89 strikeouts compared to only 27 walks.

He’s made two starts this postseason, pitching 11 innings between them in wins over Forest Grove and No. 1 South Salem. Yudhishthu has given up no runs on six shits with 12 strikeouts and three walks.

On the Sunset side, it will likely be junior Parker Raubuch as the Apollos used up senior Kruz Schoolcraft in the semifinals against McMinnville. Schoolcraft is a possible top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

Raubuch is no slouch though, owning a 2.65 ERA this season and had one postseason start this year in a 3-1 win over Clackamas. He went all seven innings and gave up one unearned run on five hits with four strikeouts and one walk.

Schoolcraft, who is still eligible to throw a max of 25 pitches, is about the only pitcher not fully available for this one.

Grant’s No. 2 man in junior Jinki Tomita only threw 83 pitches in the semifinal win at Jesuit, making him fully available for the Generals in case Yudhishthu is in trouble. Senior Kaeden Cruse has also been a reliable closer in 2025 and could see some action late in the game.

Part of what’s made Sunset so strong this year has been the pitching depth, and the Apollos will have seniors Will Slater and Dakota Chun available. The two combined to slow down No. 3 Central Catholic in a 6-4 quarterfinals victory.

At the plate

Cruse is the name to know in the Generals lineup, recently named the 6A State Player of the Year and was also the Co-Player of the Year in the PIL.

The senior third baseman is batting .442 this season with a .531 on-base percentage. He’s swatted 12 home runs this season, three coming in the postseason, and has 37 RBI.

In front of him he’s got junior Elliot Raiton hitting .419 this year with six HRs and senior catcher Brady McCarthy batting .354. Behind Cruse is another slugger in Diego Martinez Griffin hitting .367 with four HRs

Grant has a slew of other reliable hitters in Rafferty Cruikshank, Martin Elardo, Grant Snidow, Tre Hoffert and Luke Caron.

Overall, it’s a lineup batting .327 that can put the ball in play with the best of them, but also possesses the power to turn a game on a dime like Cruse did with his two HRs at No. 5 Jesuit in the semifinals.

For Sunset, Schoolcraft is quite the hitter as well, batting .476 this year with 10 HRs at first base when he’s not pitching.

A player that Grant will be familiar with is Sunset senior Gabriel Coltman, who transferred to Sunset after a strong junior season at PIL-rival Lincoln.

Coltman has 37 RBI this year to lead the Apollos and has seen Yudhishthu before. The two went against each other two times in a league game last year with Coltman walking his first time up and then Yudhishthu getting a strikeout in the second round.

Senior Gavin Riley has been the hot bat in the middle of the order for Sunset, he’s 6-for-13 this postseason with five RBI and four runs scored. He’s had at least one RBI in all four of the Apollos’ postseason games so far.

Chun and senior Cole Sauter have been solid as well with four RBI between them this postseason and four runs scored.

What to expect

Grant got here behind its offensive firepower, scoring 12 runs against previously unbeaten South Salem and eight more against Jesuit in the semifinals.

Pair that with dominant outings from Yudhishthu and Tomita and it’s been four postseason wins for the Generals.

On the Sunset side, they’ve been just as good on the bump, giving up only six runs in four postseason games. Pitching has been excellent between their arms.

The key for Sunset will be to try and run up the pitch count for Yudhishthu and get him out of the game. Even then, Tomita will likely be next and be another tough test.

Grant will need its offense to keep winning the day though, and there are strong signs it will after taking down some of the best pitching in the state between the Saxons and Crusaders.

Look for the Generals to try and strike early with the top half of the lineup, meanwhile Sunset will be happy to keep things tight and let its pitching defense win the day in the end.