Coupeville Sports

Coupeville’s senior leaders: (l to r) Madeline Roberts, Breeanna Messner and Haley Sherman. (John Fisken photos)

Emily Licence patrols third base.

Hailey Hammer told her coach she was only at 45%, but she used that 45% well.

Still recovering from an ankle injury suffered during basketball season, the Coupeville High School junior moved a little tentatively at times during the softball season opener Thursday. Except when she was at bat.

Than the power-hitting first baseman blasted away, knocking home a pair of runs and teaming with sweet-swinging senior Breeanna Messner to spark the Wolves to a huge 6-3 home victory over arch-rival South Whidbey.

Erupting for a three-spot in both the first and fourth innings, Coupeville collected some well-placed hits, then mixed them in nicely with 10 walks and a couple of wildly thrown balls by the Falcons.

South Whidbey’s starting pitcher struggled, perhaps bothered by the cold, crisp air and slight breeze that trickled across the prairie, and the Wolves jumped on her quickly.

Three of the first five batters in the bottom of the first scored, and Coupeville was on the cusp of really breaking out a big inning.

Madeline Roberts led off with a walk, scampered to second on a passed ball, took third on a wild pitch and eventually strolled home when Messner crunched a laser shot over second for the season’s first RBI.

After a walk to McKayla Bailey, two runs came in on a ground-out by Hammer. The second run scored when a Falcon airmailed the ball over the third baseman’s head for an error.

The fourth was almost a repeat, with a mixture of walks and a couple crucial hits staking the Wolves to another three-spot.

Emily Licence and Roberts eked out back-to-back walks to lead things off, then Bailey and Hammer packaged RBI singles around a free run when a South Whidbey throw to first landed somewhere down around Oak Harbor.

With runs to play with, Bailey, Coupeville’s starting hurler, came right at the Falcons. The junior flamethrower struck out eight and only had a brief bit of trouble when she tired a bit in the seventh, giving up a pair of late runs on wild pitches.

Even then, she bore down and found one last burst of adrenaline, ending the game on a nasty strike out, stranding two runners as her last pitch popped with conviction into Messner’s glove behind the plate.

Bailey was backed by a strong defense, with Madeline Strasburg coming up with a big-time catch in center, Roberts pulling off a smart tag play on a runner headed to third and Emily Coulter gobbling up everything that came her way at second.

Coulter was one of three first-time starters for Coupeville. The sophomore was joined by junior right fielder Monica Vidoni and freshman third baseman Licence.

Freshmen Tiffany Briscoe (pinch runner) and Jae LeVine (pinch hitter) also debuted for the Wolves.