Saint Louis' Jordan Mopas makes contact with a pitch in a win over Waiakea on May 15, 2014. Evan Asato | SL

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Mililani's Cole Nakachi is expected to get the start tomorrow against Saint Louis in the Division I title game. Greg Yamamoto | SL

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The title game of the Wally Yonamine Foundation/Hawaii High School Athletic Association Division I Baseball Championships will feature a pair of unseeded teams in Saint Louis and Mililani.

Saint Louis (17-6) has bounced back nicely since dropping back-to-back games to Mid-Pacific to close out the Interscholastic League of Honolulu season. The loss of the league’s seeded berth and first-round bye did not faze the Crusaders as they rattled off wins over Roosevelt, Waiakea and Campbell in three days to reach the title game, with only one run combined given up. 

The Crusaders were dominant in their win over Roosevelt Tuesday, rattling off a season-high 13 runs on 15 hits in a shutout victory. Designated hitter Ryder Kuhns led the offensive flurry in the contest, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBIs.

Saint Louis’ quarterfinal game against Waiakea was a much different story. The matchup featured two of the top pitchers in the state with the Crusaders’ right-hander Jordan Yamamoto and the Warriors’ Kodi Medeiros. Saint Louis won the contest 2-0, with Yamamoto pitching a complete game with nine strikeouts. 

In their semifinal game against Campbell, the Crusaders scored three unanswered runs to propel themselves into the title game. First basemen Jordan Mopas’ double in the top of the seventh drove in the two Saint Louis runs to break a 1-all game. Mopas has a batting average of 0.714 through three games in the state tournament. 

Saint Louis, who is ranked third in the ScoringLive/OC16 Baseball Power Rankings, is making its first appearance in the title game since 2008. A Saint Louis victory Friday night will give the Crusaders their first title since 1974. 

Since suffering its largest loss to Waipahu to begin April (12-1), Mililani (12-6) has become a different team, winning nine out of their last 10 games. The lone loss in that stretch was in the Oahu Interscholastic Association Red Division semifinal round to Kailua, who the Trojans defeated 4-0 to advance into the title game.

The victory over the Surfriders isn’t the only revenge the Trojans exacted on this postseason. Mililani, the 2013 state runner-up, defeated reigning state champion Mid-Pacific 5-4 in the quarterfinal round. Micah Chinen threw a complete game and Justice Nakagawa drove in three runs to help the Trojans stun the Owls.

It was the second one-run victory for the Trojans in the state tournament. In the opening round Mililani gutted out a 5-4 victory over Hilo. Cole Nakachi (5-2), who is expected to pitch against Saint Louis, pitched five innings with three strikeouts against the Vikings.

Center fielder Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi is leading the Trojans at the plate in the state tournament with a 0.636 batting average in three days. He also has four stolen bases in those games, three of those coming against Kailua. 

Mililani, ranked No. 10 in the ScoringLive/OC16 Baseball Power Rankings, is making its second straight appearance in the title game, the only two in school history.

Friday’s championship game will follow the Division II title game between Maryknoll and Kamehameha-Hawaii at 4 p.m. Both games will be televised live statewide on OC16.