For the second day in a row, clutch pitching propelled the Olympia Bears to a crucial win against Bonney Lake as the Bears defeated the Panthers 5-3 in Pierce County Wednesday.
Landyn Keister pitched five strong innings and worked into the sixth before Aiden Apfel and Travis Kunkel came out of the bullpen and slammed the door on Bonney Lake’s rally.
“Tough win. That’s a good team. Keister gave us a great start,” Olympia head coach Derek Weldon said. “He’s a competitor that loves the ball in his hand. I loved the way we defended today. Terrific team win.”
Olympia quickly got down to business on offense, scoring a run just two batters into the game as Noah Miller singled and Sawyer Dean doubled him home. Four walks led to another run for the Bears in the second inning, and Nate Pohl drove in a run in the third to put Olympia in front 3-0.
Keister retired the first six men he faced and nine of his first 10. The Bears tallied a run for the fourth straight inning thanks to an RBI single by Connor Hardy, and Keister survived a bases-loaded jam in the fourth to keep Bonney Lake off the scoreboard.
After a clean fifth inning, Keister ran into trouble in the sixth. He gave up two singles, and Trenton Fowler hit a three-run home run to center field to make it a one-run ballgame. Apfel replaced Keister and picked up two big outs with a runner on second before Kunkel came in to strike out the final batter.
Elijah Butler provided some major insurance for the Bears with a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning, and Kunkel picked up the save in the bottom half of the frame to secure the sweep.
Olympia’s pitchers struck out a combined nine batters, led by five punchouts from Keister. Dean and Hardy each logged two hits at the plate.
Olympia (10-2, 6-2 South Puget Sound League) will trek to Port Orchard Friday to face South Kitsap (3-6, 3-5 South Puget Sound League).
