Parker Raubuch was stellar on the mound for the state champion Apollos (Jon Olson)

KEIZER – Sunset scored five runs with one out in the top of the fifth inning to rally past Grant, 6-5, on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at the OSAA / OnPoint Community Credit Union 6A Baseball State Championships at Roto-Rooter Park in Keizer.

The win made the Apollos, who lost, 8-4, to West Linn in the championship game last year; state champions for the first time in 31 years and gave John Barnes his first title as a head after 32 years in the game.

“It’s been a long journey,” Barnes said. “I put my heart and soul into the game and so did the players and coaches.”

Sunset (22-9) won as the eleventh seed after starting the year No. 1 in the pre-season OSAAtoday Coaches Poll.

“The way we did it is so special, with a target on our back every game,” Barnes said. “We played the toughest schedule we’ve ever played in high school baseball and it was the difference for us.”

“We worked hard for this,” said start hitter/pitcher Kruz Schhoolcraft. “After not winning last year, we had some fire in our hearts.”

A huge crowd of energetic Grant supporters showed up to cheer the Generals on to victory. They went away disappointed, as Sunset’s stars all stepped up to help the Apollos to victory.

Junior RHP Parker Raubuch started on the mound in the championship game for the second straight year and was stellar, throwing strike after strike with a four-pitch mix. He pitched into the sixth inning and allowed just one unearned run while getting 11 ground ball outs.

“All my pitches were working today,” Raubuch said. “After last year we set a goal to come back and win it. That’s what we did; it’s a great feeling.”

Gabe Coltman, a senior transfer from Lincoln, delivered an RBI single in the first to put Sunset on top, then doubled over the right fielder’s head in the fifth to drive in two more in the top of the fifth. Those runs were part of a decisive five-run frame that put the Apollos back on top after Grant had scored twice ion the fourth to seize the lead.

“I look for those moments where I can make a change in the game, Coltman said. “That’s what I dream of. Whenever I’m practicing I’m always thinking about that big moment. To be able to do that in the first and the fifth is what I practice for.”

Schoolcraft, who is projected to be a top 10 pick in next month’s major league draft, reached base all four times he was up and scored two runs. He also closed out the game with a scoreless seventh inning.

“I wanted the ball at the end,” said Schoolcraft, who did not pitch in last year’s championship game.

Schoolcraft added that he wasn’t surprised when his team took the lead in the fifth after falling behind by a run.

 “I feel like we’ve been doing that all year,” he said. “There’s a lot of fight in these guys and I love it. We don’t care who’s on the other side.”

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The game started with three straight Sunset hits off of Grant ace Cooper Yudhishthu. Schoolcraft hit the first pitch into center and took an extra base when the ball took a crazy bounce over Grant CF Marin Elardo’s head. After a Luke Sullivan line drive single to right moved Schoolcraft up a base, he scored the game’s first run on Coltman’s ground ball single through the 6-hole.

Yudhishthu settled down massively after that. He did not allow another hit until there was one out in the fifth. At one point, he set down eight Sunset batters in a row.

“He’s a special kid and has the heart of a champion,” said Grant head coach Matt Kabza. “He went out and competed. He didn’t let the first inning faze him, embraced the moment and gave us a chance to win.”

Grant (22-8), which skunked top-seeded South Salem and dominated No. 3 Jesuit to make the final and entered today’s final on an 11-game unbeaten streak, had two runners on in the first and third innings, but could not dent the scoreboard. That changed in the fourth, when two Sunset errors sandwiched a Tre Hoffert RBI triple and led to two unearned runs. Grant might have tacked on another run or more but for a nice snag from 3B Dakota Chun to prevent Brady McCarthy’s line drive from getting down the line.

Sunset had only seven hits all game, but when you string them together, runs follow. That was the case in the fifth, as the Apollos responded to Grant’s taking the lead by producing four straight hits that led to five runs. With one out, Schoolcraft walked. Sullivan followed with a chopper to second that should have forced Schoolcraft, but the Grant shortstop dropped the toss. That brought up Coltman and he delivered this double to put Sunset back on top, 3-2.

The hits and runs, however, did not stop. Chun found a hole to drive home Coltman. Cole Sauter followed with a ground rule double just inside the left field foul line. That brought the infield in and Gavin Riley took advantage by singling to right field to drive in two. Riley might have had a triple or more, because the ball skipped by the right fielder, but he missed first base and had to retreat.

“Our response to the events today was the key to the game,” said Barnes. “When we got down, we didn’t panic. And we had the right guys up to bat in the right spots.”

Now leading 6-2, Sunset needed nine outs to make its championship aspirations a reality. Raubuch was stellar in the fifth, inducing three ground ball outs on just 12 pitches; but ran into trouble with one out in the top of the sixth. He issued a one-out, four-pitch walk to pinch hitter Miles Brown and a two-out walk to Rafferty Cruikshank, his first two unintentional walks of the game. McCarthy followed with a 2-2 line drive single to left to load the bases. That chased Raubuch and brought on Chun, Sunset’s closer.

McCarthy greeted the right hander with an infield single to short that scored one. Grant added another on a fielding error on the second baseman and a third when a two-strike curve ball hit senior Kaeden Cruse, Grant’s power-hitting third baseman. Chun limited further damage by inducing a fly out to left to end the inning, but the three runs had drawn Grant within just one of tying the score.

Junior Jinki Tomita, who came on in relief of Yudhishthu in the top of the sixth after a leadoff walk, held Sunset scoreless for the second straight inning. He benefited from McCarthy pegging out a would-be base stealer for the second time in the game.

The scoreless frame put Grant in position to tie with one run in the bottom of the seventh inning or to win with two. In order for either scenario to come to pass, however, the Generals would have to get to Schoolcraft, the gas-throwing lefty who was on to close.

Grant Snidow promptly singled through the right side to give Grant hope. Unfortunately, that hope took a beating seconds later when Schoolcraft picked him off. A strike out and ground ball followed, slamming the door shut on Sunset’s 6-5 win.

Raubuch was the winning pitcher. He gave up just five hits and walked three through 5.2 innings. Raubuch said that facing West Linn last year in the championship game prepared him for facing Grant.

“Last year, West Linn brought the energy for sure,” he said. “As a sophomore that was a lot to take in my first year on varsity. This year I mentally prepared myself and Grant brought a big crowd. It was loud the whole game but I was in my space and threw strikes and had a great defense behind me.”

Sunset finished with just seven hits and was shaky at times on the defensive end, but did just enough to win a great high school baseball game.

“The bottom line is, I told the guys all year that pitching and defense, plus timely hitting, wins ballgames,” Barnes said. “We did those things today at the right time.”

“I told them, “You’re not going to play perfect; you don’t have to play perfect,’” Barnes continued. “You need to minimize mistakes and maximize opportunities. We caught a couple of breaks and maximized them. That’s been the story of our season. Hats off to Grant. They were all we expected them to be and more.”

Hats off to Grant indeed. Playing in its first state championship game in 67 years, the moment proved not to be too big for the Generals, who could as easily have been the winning team in this game.

“Our kids competed their hearts out,” Kabza said. “I tip my hat to Sunset. They played really well today. They’re a great ballclub.”

Kabza said that he couldn’t be prouder of his kids for what they did not just in this game but throughout the post-season.

“They were ready,” he explained. “They’ve embraced the journey during this playoff run whole heartedly. It’s something they will be able to carry with them when they’re done playing ball and step up during the big moments in their lives.”