‘Pressure bursts pipes.’ Keister’s complete game lifts Olympia to 4A SPSL title
Brayden Cheeka thought he had room to spare. When a towering fly ball sailed toward Olympia’s left fielder with two outs in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 4A SPSL championship, Cheeka figured he’d settle underneath a routine pop-up, secure the game-winning catch with both hands and celebrate with teammates on the mound.
The Bears senior soon realized it wasn’t so simple. Sumner’s Xander Cypher nearly tied a 1-0 game with a solo home run — but Cheeka drifted and reached with one arm to snag a potential home run out of the sky.
“It was probably a foot away,” Cheeka said.
Before he could return to the infield, Cheeka’s teammates found their hero in left field instead. They formed a celebratory huddle around their left fielder, who had come down with a clutch, game-saving catch. Better yet, a league championship-saver.
Olympia right-hander Landyn Keister, whose complete-game shutout hung in the balance, wasn’t so worried.
“If it’s long gone, it’s long gone,” he said. “But if it’s anywhere in (Brayden’s) range, he’s got it. I fully trust him.”
For the first time in school history at the 4A level, the Olympia Bears are South Puget Sound League baseball champions. Keister threw seven outstanding innings, catcher Connor Hardy plated the only run with a sacrifice bunt in the fifth, and Cheeka’s catch preserved a 1-0 road win over the Sumner Spartans on Wednesday afternoon.
In head coach Derek Weldon’s nine years at the helm, the Bears captured the Class 4A state title in 2022 and won three district championships. But this league title was a first, given Puyallup won 18 straight 4A SPSL championships from 2008-2025. That streak is now over.
“These boys are excited… to be the first,” Weldon said. “We’ve done a lot, so to be the first to win a SPSL championship is a big deal.”
Keister picked apart Sumner hitters with a well-located fastball, mixing effective curveballs and sliders throughout a complete-game shutout. He allowed just three hits and one walk with two strikeouts across seven innings, pitching to contact and trusting the defense behind him — all the way to Cheeka’s final catch at the wall.
“I really can’t put it into words,” Keister said. “It’s huge. It’s just a rush of emotion.
“I was fully prepared. I knew if I didn’t (go all seven innings), I had a bullpen behind me. I’m just glad to pull that one out.”
When Olympia put runners at second and third with one out in the fifth inning, Hardy plated the game’s only run with a perfectly-placed sacrifice bunt in front of Sumner lefty Brody Santman. Bears right fielder Milo Tolbert dashed home, forcing Santman into a routine play at first base. Olympia 1, Sumner 0.
Weldon prefers the term “pressure baseball” over “small-ball.” Whatever you want to call it, Keister considers it the cornerstone of Olympia’s winning recipe.
“All you need is one base runner, and they can score and win you the game,” Keister said. “Pressure bursts pipes.”
Santman was excellent, allowing one earned run (four hits) in a complete-game loss. He struck out six without a walk, but Hardy’s sacrifice bunt was the difference in a revenge win after Sumner blanked the Bears, 5-0, on April 3.
“I didn’t know that one would win it, honestly,” Weldon said. “But I just felt like getting one on the board was really important.
“And (Santman) is really good. He one-hit us at our place earlier this year. It’s tough to touch home on that guy. If we get a chance to do it, we’re going to do it.”
Olympia (18-5) enters the District 3/4 4A bracket with momentum, allowing one combined run to Emerald Ridge and Sumner in a pair of league-tournament wins.
“(Landyn) was amazing,” Cheeka said. “To come out there and throw seven innings… he was just a bulldog all game.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 8:55 PM.
