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Wolf seniors (l to r) Scott Hilborn, Jonathan Valenzuela, and Piotr Bieda play at home Saturday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Do we have to count every inning?

Take away the bottom of the fifth Thursday, and the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad returns from the road with a win in a first-place battle with Mount Vernon Christian.

Unfortunately, one bad frame — with the Wolves surrendering seven runs to the Hurricanes — was enough to send them to a 12-7 loss.

That drops Coupeville to 2-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-3 overall, while MVC (4-2) gets to 4-0 in conference action.

The Wolves built a 3-0 lead, let it slip away for a moment, then regained the advantage before the frame o’ death proved fatal.

MVC rapped out four hits in the bottom of the fifth, including an RBI double, but also benefited from drawing four walks — with three of those coming with the bases loaded, forcing in a run.

Coupeville also hurt itself in the inning by committing two errors and allowing another run to scamper home on a wild pitch.

The seven-run burst turned a 6-5 Wolf lead into a 12-6 deficit, which proved to be too much to recover from.

Things had looked much brighter in the early going, as starting pitcher Jonathan Valenzuela faced the minimum batters through two innings.

He gave up one walk, but immediately picked the runner off, rifling the ball to first-baseman Landon Roberts to catch the Hurricane straying.

After squandering a Chase Anderson double and a Cole White walk in the top of the first, the Wolves broke through to score a pair in the second, and another run in the third.

Coop Cooper put Coupeville up 2-0 with a two-run single to center, plating Camden Glover (walk) and Jack Porter (single), before Glover came back around to lash an RBI single an inning later.

MVC finally broke Valenzuela’s spell in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs thanks to a mix of walks, Wolf errors, and a well-placed sac fly.

Trailing for the first time, Coupeville responded in the top of the fourth, reclaiming the lead at 6-4 thanks to a bunch of steals and RBI singles from Anderson and White.

The Hurricanes nailed another sac fly to cut things to 6-5, but Glover ended the bottom of the fourth by snuffing out a would-be base thief trying to scramble to third base.

That seemed to set the stage for a back-and-forth battle, befitting the game being a battle for sole possession of first place in the NWL, but the terrible, horrible, no good fifth inning was fast approaching.

Once it fell behind for good, Coupeville put runners aboard in both the sixth and seventh but could only get one guy home.

That was Anderson, who walked, stole second, and lit out for home on a Valenzuela RBI single to center in the sixth.

While the loss stings, the Wolves get a chance to get right back on a win streak Saturday, when they host Orcas Island.

First pitch is at noon.

 

Thursday’s stats:

Chase Anderson — One single, one double, one walk
Coop Cooper — One single, one walk
Camden Glover — One single, one walk
Aiden O’Neill — One walk
Jack Porter — Two singles
Yohannon Sandles — One walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — One single, one walk
Cole White — One single, one walk

The Coupeville High School softball team is using its platform to assist the fight against cancer.

The Wolves — Mother Nature willing — host Orcas Island this Saturday, Apr. 1 in a Northwest 2B/1B League clash.

First pitch is at noon, and the CHS sluggers are dedicating the game to cancer awareness.

The Wolf players will wear different colored socks to represent the different forms of cancer.

The softball squad is also collecting donations and will be raffling off 5-6 gift baskets during the game.

All proceeds go to the WhidbeyHealth Foundation to help support patients fighting cancer.

Coupeville senior Cameron Epp won the 3200 Wednesday, then ran a leg on the day’s fastest 4 x 400 relay team. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Statement, made.

The Coupeville High School track and field team rolled into Mount Vernon Wednesday and lit up the joint at an 11-team meet.

By the time the day was done, the Wolves had racked up 11 wins, collected 70 PR’s, and won both girls and boys team titles.

Though CHS didn’t get proper credit for some of their performances until Thursday, as scoring and computer imputing issues plagued the meet.

Once things were (mostly) settled, the Wolf girls surged ahead of Mount Vernon Christian in the final team standings, winning a 198-191 duel.

Third place Friday Harbor was well back with 67 points.

On the boy’s side of things, the Wolves were dominant, racking up 212 points, putting them way ahead of MVC (128) and La Conner (96.5)

Coupeville’s wins came courtesy Lyla Stuurmans (400), Carolyn Lhamon (shot put), Aleera Kent (800), Cameron Epp (3200), Claire Mayne (100 hurdles), Zac Tackett (discus), Ryanne Knoblich (high jump), Alex Murdy (long jump), Dominic Coffman (high jump) and the boys 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay units.

The Wolves return to action quickly, traveling to Meridian Friday for the Trojan Twilight meet.

 

Wednesday’s results:

 

GIRLS:

100 — Monroe Myles (3rd) 13.52 *PR*; Ava Mitten (8th) 14.84; Carlota Marcos-Cabrillo (10th) 15.10 *PR*; Alysia Burdge (12th) 15.29 *PR*; Anna Annunziato (13th) 15.34 *PR*; Isabella Gaspio (18th) 15.95 *PR*; Sara Omega (28th) 17.28 *PR*; Desi Ramirez (30th) 17.45 *PR*; Frankie Tenore (31st) 17.65; Avery Williams-Buchanan (32nd) 17.93

200 — M. Myles (3rd) 28.70 *PR*; Lyla Stuurmans (4th) 29.47; Ryanne Knoblich (5th) 29.65 *PR*; Carly Burt (6th) 30.36 *PR*; Gaspio (11th) 33.23 *PR*; Gwen Crowder (16th) 34.80; Mercedes Kalwies-Anderson (19th) 36.36 *PR*; Williams-Buchanan (20th) 39.36 *PR*

400 — Stuurmans (1st) 1;05.52; Ayden Wyman (3rd) 1:12.73; Aleera Kent (4th) 1:14.27

800 — Kent (1st) 2:43.61 *PR*; Noelle Western (3rd) 3:01.04 *PR*

1600 — Cristina McGrath (7th) 8:00.53

3200 — C. McGrath (7th) 16:48.58

100 Hurdles — Claire Mayne (1st) 18.98; Katie Buskala (7th) 22.48 *PR*; Tenore (10th) 24.86; Crowder (12th) 28.64 *PR*

300 Hurdles — Mayne (3rd) 57.76 *PR*; Crowder (8th) 1:10.69 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — M. MylesMitten, Burt, Mayne (2nd) 56.25

4 x 200 Relay — Mitten, Knoblich, A. Wyman, Stuurmans (2nd) 2:03.60

4 x 400 Relay — MayneA. Wyman, C. McGrath, Kent (2nd) 5:09.74

Shot Put — Carolyn Lhamon (1st) 33-09 *PR*; Katie Marti (4th) 24-06; Reese Wilkinson (6th) 22-11; Erica McGrath (8th) 22-09; Grier Mooney (9th) 22-00; Ilyshyanna Myles (10th) 19-09; Ramirez (12th) 19-06

Discus — Lhamom (2nd) 89-10; Wilkinson (3rd) 76-05; Marti (6th) 67-09; Mooney (8th) 58-10; E. McGrath (9th) 58-09; Aby Wood (10th) 56-00 *PR*; I. Myles (12th) 54-08; Ramirez (14th) 50-03; Jackie Contreras (20th) 41-01

Javelin — Marti (2nd) 89-07.50; Wood (9th) 62-09.50 *PR*; Burdge (10th) 60-08.50; Wilkinson (12th) 58-08.50; Valentina Nadela (16th) 51-08.50 *PR*; Contreras (18th) 50-00.50 *PR*; Marcos-Cabrillo (19th) 48-05 *PR*; Crowder (20th) 47-09.25 *PR*; Lavinia Tomba (33rd) 22-10.50 *PR*; Delanie Lewis (34th) 22-05

High Jump — Knoblich (1st) 4-10; Stuurmans (3rd) 4-04; Kalwies-Anderson (4th) 4-04; Buskala (7th) 4-00 *PR*; Marcos-Cabrillo (9th) 3-08 *PR*

Long Jump — Knoblich (2nd) 14-01.75; Burt (4th) 13-04; Buskala (7th) 12-09 *PR*; Tenore (10th) 11-06.50 *PR*; Lewis (20th) 10-10 *PR*; Nadela (21st) 10-08.25 *PR*; Annunziato (27th) 10-01; Omega (29th) 9-04.50 *PR*; Tomba (31st) 8-11.50 *PR*; Williams-Buchanan (32nd) 6-09.25

Triple Jump — C. McGrath (3rd) 28-00

 

BOYS:

100 — Tim Ursu (3rd) 11.64 *PR*; Aidan Wilson (7th) 11.94 *PR*; Dominic Coffman (8th) 12.02; Nehemiah Myles (11th) 12.34 *PR*; Preston Epp (12th) 12.36 *PR*; Alex Merino-Martinez (21st) 12.84 *PR*; Kris Sturtevant (29th) 13.53 *PR*

200 — Nick Guay (4th) 24.12 *PR*; Ursu (5th) 24.36 *PR*; Reiley Araceley (6th) 24.56 *PR*; Alex Murdy (8th) 25.11 *PR*; Adrian Cunningham (14th) 26.68; Hank Milnes (15th) 27.23; P. Epp (20th) 27.59; Cael Wilson (21st) 27.61; Sturtevant (22nd) 27.87 *PR*; Easton Green (24th) 28.07 *PR*; Quinten Simpson-Pilgrim (25th) 28.23 *PR*

400 — Milnes (4th) 59.24; Araceley (5th) 59.53 *PR*; Anthony Smolen (6th) 59.79; Cunningham (7th) 1:00.99 *PR*; Simpson-Pilgrim (10th) 1:03.51 *PR*

800 — Ezra Boilek (4th) 2:20.57 *PR*; Smolen (5th) 2:30.78 *PR*; Ezekiel Allen (6th) 2:33.69

1600 — A. Wilson (2nd) 5:02.38 *PR*; Murdy (5th) 5:25.63 *PR*; Green (15th) 6:02.06 *PR*; George Spear (17th) 6:03.72

3200 — Cameron Epp (1st) 11:05.71; Spear (2nd) 12:09.71

110 Hurdles — Tate Wyman (4th) 18.22 *PR*; Araceley (5th) 18.49; C. Wilson (7th) 20.02

300 Hurdles — T. Wyman (3rd) 44.45 *PR*

4 x 100 Relay — Ursu, T. Wyman, A. Wilson, Coffman (1st) 45.64; Cunningham, C. Wilson, P. Epp, N. Myles (6th) 50.18; Josh Guay, Merino-Martinez, Sturtevant, Boilek (8th) 53.73

4 x 400 Relay — N. Guay, Milnes, Boilek, C. Epp (1st) 3:53.72

Shot Put — Josh Upchurch (3rd) 34-01; Zac Tackett (6th) 31-01; Kai Wong (12th) 28-10; Zane Oldenstadt (13th) 27-11; J. Guay (30th) 18-08; Nick Shelly (33rd) 17-02

Discus — Tackett (1st) 127-02 *PR*; Oldenstadt (4th) 94-05; Wong (8th) 83-09; C. Epp (13th) 79-02; Upchurch (14th) 79-00; J. Guay (20th) 72-00; Shelly (27th) 66-01

Javelin — A. Wilson (5th) 119-10 *PR*; Boilek (14th) 93-08 *PR*; Wong (19th) 86-09.50; Upchurch (20th) 83-01.50 *PR*; Shelly (25th) 70-04.50; J. Guay (32nd) 58-05.25 *PR*

High Jump — Coffman (1st) 5-10; Murdy (2nd) 5-06; N. Guay (3rd) 5-06; C. Wilson (5th) 5-02; Simpson-Pilgrim (9th) 4-10

Long Jump — Murdy (1st) 19-11.75 *PR*; Ursu (2nd) 18-09.75 *PR*; Merino-Martinez (6th) 16-08 *PR*; N. Myles (7th) 16-05; Green (24th) 14-02 *PR*; Sturtevant (26th) 13-11; Allen (29th) 12-05.50; Cunningham (35th) 10-01

Triple Jump — Araceley (4th) 36-08 *PR*; Milnes (5th) 35-00

The Wolves were out in force. (Bob Martin photo)

Kim Kisch, Wolf player turned Wolf coach. 

Amber Wyman (right) has accepted a bigger role in helping guide young Coupeville athletes. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

No more open jobs.

For the moment, at least.

Coupeville High School/Middle School Athletic Director Willie Smith has filled coaching positions for CHS girls’ soccer and CMS track and field.

Kim Kisch, one of the first booters to play for the Wolf program when it launched in 2004, is coming back around to call the shots as head coach starting next fall.

She replaces Kyle Nelson, who retired at the end of the most-recent season.

Meanwhile, Amber Wyman, already hired to coach middle school cross country, will also pick up coaching duties with the CMS track and field program.

Returning coach Jon Gabelein and Wyman welcome a new squad to the first day of practice Apr. 10, with a six-meet schedule running Apr. 26-May 31.

Before becoming a head coach, Wyman was an assistant helping middle school (now high school) running guru Elizabeth Bitting.

Both hires will be official once approved by the school board.

Maya Lucero, ready to fling heat. (Jackie Saia photo)

How bad do you want it?

That’s a question the Coupeville High School softball squad will have to ask, after taking an unexpected loss Tuesday on Friday Harbor.

Despite back-to-back out-of-the-park home runs from lethal leftie Allie Lucero, the Wolves fell just short, losing 13-12 in a game they led 6-0.

The conference loss, the first CHS softball has absorbed since rejoining the Northwest 2B/1B League in 2020, drops Kevin McGranahan’s team to 1-1 in NWL play, 3-3 overall.

The biggest sting, however, is who beat the Wolves.

With three 2B schools in the seven-team NWL, only one of that trio advances to the playoffs, and it’s based off head-to-head play.

So, while there’s a lot of season left to play, Coupeville’s pathway to the postseason just got a lot smaller.

As in, the Wolves have to beat Friday Harbor in their two remaining matchups — Apr. 18 in Coupeville and May 4 back on the road — or its regular season and done.

But what about La Conner, the third 2B school, you ask?

The Braves have been outscored 113-28 across their first five games, including a 20-2 loss to Coupeville in which the Wolves created 10 of their 12 outs by choosing to have runners step off base early.

So, moving along…

Tuesday’s showdown started in favor of Coupeville, with the Wolves looking like they would bust things wide open.

Yet they came up just short of delivering that knockout punch.

CHS put two runners aboard in the top of the first, but failed to bring either one around, while doubles from Sofia Peters and Gwen Gustafson staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead after two frames.

Wolf hurler Maya Lucero shut down Friday Harbor with ease coming out of the gate, and then she and her teammates surged in the third.

Sending 10 hitters to the plate, Coupeville tallied five runs to push its advantage out to 6-0.

Taylor Brotemarkle cracked a double, Madison McMillan mashed a two-run triple to deep center, and Allie Lucero, Gustafson, and Mia Farris all followed with precision hits.

Toss in walks to Teagan Calkins and Melanie Navarro, with the latter wearing a pitch, and thoughts of ten-running another foe were in the air.

And then things fell apart, first slowly and then quickly.

“We went all the way to Friday Harbor, but forgot to pack our defense,” Kevin McGranahan said. “A huge inning fueled by too many errors to count, and we dug a hole we couldn’t climb out of.

“Our inconsistent defense caught us in a big way today.”

The Wolverines only picked up a lone run in the bottom of the third, but went on a tear in the fourth, pushing eight more across as CHS struggled to field the ball.

Another four scores in the fifth inning shoved the lead out to 13-7, putting increased pressure on a suddenly scrambling Coupeville squad.

Allie Lucero launched the first of her two taters in the top of the fifth, then came back around to do it again leading off the seventh.

Both of her round-trippers vanished high over the right field fence, eliciting ooh’s and ah’s from a pack of Friday Harbor teens hanging out around the camera streaming the game back to Whidbey.

The second Lucero launch sparked a final-inning rally which almost caught the Wolverines.

Brotemarkle crushed a two-run double to left to pull Coupeville within 13-10, before a runner zipped home off of a passed ball and McMillan pasted an RBI triple.

With the tying run at third and the go-ahead score lingering at first, the Wolves needed just a pinch more magic, but came up a batter short.

Now the real work begins.

 

Tuesday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — One single, two doubles
Teagan Calkins — One single, two walks
Mia Farris — One single, one walk
Gwen Gustafson — One single, one double
Allie Lucero — Two home runs
Maya Lucero — Two singles
Madison McMillan — One single, two triples
Melanie Navarro — Two walks
Sofia Peters — One double, one walk