Travis Kunkel and Aiden Apfel locked down the South Kitsap offense as the Olympia baseball team shut out the Wolves 3-0 in Port Orchard Friday afternoon.
Kunkel went five innings and allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out six batters. Aiden Apfel continued the dominance over the final two frames, giving up just one hit.
“Kunk gave us five great innings and Apfel closed. Both of them filled it up,” Olympia head coach Derek Weldon said. “Heck of a week for the pitching staff and the club as a whole.”
Olympia only recorded three hits on offense, but two of them came in the first inning to get the Bears off to a strong start. After Sawyer Dean reached on an error and Kunkel singled, Elijah Butler drove in a run with an RBI single to right field. Connor Hardy put the ball in play on a bunt to score Kunkel and give Olympia a 2-0 start.
Brayden Cheeka tacked on a run in the fourth, bringing Butler home on a sacrifice fly after the first two batters walked to start the inning.
On the mound, Kunkel threw four perfect innings and gave up his lone hit and walk in the fifth. But he stranded the two runners to finish his day with a clean sheet. Apfel entered in the sixth and allowed a hit on his first at bat before retiring the final six he faced.
Olympia (11-2, 7-2 South Puget Sound League) now sits in a three-way tie for first place in the SPSL with Graham-Kapowsin and Emerald Ridge. The Bears will face Bethel (2-7, 1-7 SPSL) at home Tuesday, April 14 to start a two-game series.
