Olympia senior pitcher Travis Kunkel shut down Prairie, and the Bears used an 11-run fourth inning to cruise past the Falcons 12-2 in five innings Friday in Camas.
Kunkel struck out nine batters over four innings, allowing two hits and two runs while forcing a whopping 15 swings and misses. He worked three perfect innings to start, and he also drove in a pair of runs at the plate.
“Kunk was dominant. He executive pitches at a very high level. He attacked and competed like he always does,” Olympia head coach Derek Weldon said of Kunkel.
Kunkel’s sacrifice fly in the third gave the Bears a 1-0 lead before Prairie scored twice in the fourth, first off an error on a bunt back to Kunkel and then on a single to center field by Kishon Brown.
Olympia exploded on offense in the fourth. By the time Prairie got the first out of the inning, the Bears had already sent nine batters to the plate and scored six runs. Aiden Apfel, Kunkel and DJ Johnson earned RBI singles during that spurt, and Brayden Cheeka spurred two more runs with a single to left. Elijah Butler added two RBIs to his three-RBI day on a single.
Olympia (3-0) will get two cracks at Spanaway Lake next week to start South Puget Sound League play, first on the road Tuesday and then at home Wednesday.
