THURSTON – Grady Saunders has been playing above his age level since middle school, so Dennis Minium knew he didn’t have an average freshman arriving on the diamond in 2023.
“Oh yeah, I had high expectations for him after watching him play at the Babe Ruth level,” the Thurston baseball coach said. “I knew he was special and he has been a pleasure to coach.”
Saunders lived up to the hype right away when he hit a walk-off, inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead the Colts to a 2-1 victory over West Albany at PK Park in the Class 5A final as a freshman. He helped the Colts repeat as state champions during his sophomore season and enters his senior year having led Thurston to a league title during all three of his seasons.
“The walk-off homer as a freshman was definitely the highlight of my career so far, but hopefully we can top it this year,” Saunders said.
Saunders and four other seniors look to lead Thurston to its eighth consecutive Midwestern League baseball title while seeking a third state title in four years.
“We are missing a couple pieces from last year when we had a bunch of seniors, but we have some sophomores and juniors stepping into big roles,” said senior shortstop Brock Johnson, who batted .490 with 38 runs scored and 26 RBIs last season while earning first-team, all-state honors. “I think we will be really competitive, definitely a shot at another state title.”
Saunders, who committed to play at Oregon State early in his high school career, hit .500 with eight doubles, five triples, five homers, 26 runs scored and 36 RBIs as a junior. On the mound, he was 9-1 with a 0.89 ERA.
“Grady is pretty focused this year, he knows what he wants to accomplish,” said Minium, who enters his 12th season as coach. “He wants to end his career on a winning note and he’s been dialed in like a player-coach. He has been in the program for three years and everyone looks up to him. He has high expectations and holds kids accountable.”
Saunders has been a star on the team since he arrived on campus, but now he takes on a leadership role with his fellow seniors.
“This is the last ride,” he said. “I came in as a young kid, not in the spotlight, and now I am trying to repeat what we did the past three years. Like Brock says, ‘Pressure is a privilege’, so when you do great things, that is what is expected. Then when you do bad things they are hating on you, so we are trying to do our best things all the time, which is hard to do.”
Big finish
Saunders, the Class 5A player of the year last year, is certainly in the spotlight as he looks to finish off a prep career that will go down as one of the best in state history.
“As a freshman, he came in a little squirrely, but he has matured a ton,” Minium said. “He brings a work ethic to this job and he is the ultimate competitor. I don’t think much distracts Grady once he steps on the field, he knows what to focus on.”
Saunders never lost focus on Oregon State after committing to coach Mitch Canham a couple years ago.
“I had a great connection with the coaches plus the winning culture at Oregon State and their success at winning national championships,” he said. “I was 10 when they won in 2018 and what a great moment that was to watch.
Obviously, Mitch won a national title as a player in 2006 and 2007 so I want to be part of keeping that tradition of being a powerhouse on the west coast.”
First, Saunders will look to keep the Colts as a powerhouse in 5A as one of four returning starters among eight returning players, including five seniors.
Senior left fielder Cam Nosack was an honorable mention, all-conference player last year when he batted .409 with 23 runs scored. Bryson Bowser hit .435 last year and moves to center field this season while Jackson Lane moves into the lineup at catcher and first base in addition to pitching. Junior Parker Edwards is a transfer from Sheldon who will pitch and play the corner infield spots.
“We have a young team this year, but we have good senior leaders and we have grown up playing together,” Bowser said. “I think we have a lot of talent on this team. In this program, young guys step up when it is their time and that was what us seniors did when we were younger.”
Thurston opened the season with an 11-6 victory against Class 6A Sheldon at PK Park on March 18 before heading to Arizona for five games at the Coach Bob Tournament.
“We have a solid core of seniors and a handful of juniors and a good sophomore class,” Minium said. “Replacing eight seniors is tough, but we don’t need these guys to match what the others did, we just need them to be themselves and play like they can.”
