Coupeville Sports

  Wolf catcher Jake Tumblin called a good game Thursday, then chipped in at the plate with two hits and three stolen bases. (John Fisken photo)

Church was in session Thursday, and the sermon was all about denial.

Coupeville High School hurler Aaron “Church” Curtin was flingin’ smoke, and backed by an opportunistic defense, he shut down visiting South Whidbey to a 6-1 tune.

The second straight win over their Island arch-rivals, it lifted the Wolves to a glossy 2-0 on the young season and clinched the tie-breaker between the only two 1A schools playing baseball in the Cascade Conference.

While Coupeville still has another 18 regular season games to play, 16 in league play (including a game in Langley Friday), it doesn’t hurt to know that, if it comes down to it, the Wolves will have an edge when playoff berths are decided.

“Well, it certainly helps, but we still need to finish ahead of them in league, so a long ways to go until it’s completely secured,” said a low-key CHS coach Willie Smith.

If Curtin keeps pitching like he did in his first outing of the season, following on the heels of strong work from Ben Etzell in the opener, it’s just going to get better for Coupeville.

“Aaron pitched a heckuva game,” Smith said.

Curtin struck out six over six innings and effectively scattered five hits, spacing them out where they did little damage.

When the Falcons did get bat on ball, the Wolf defense was ready.

Etzell went airborne to snag a screaming liner, then doubled a runner off of second for an inning-ending double play.

Then Wade Schaef topped him with “an ESPN highlight reel play,” laying out on a dead run to grab a liner at his shoestrings, snatching away a huge hit at a time when CHS was clinging to a one-run lead.

Schaef also swung a huge bat for the Wolves, crunching a double and knocking home three runs.

The whole lineup clicked, with Korbin Korzan thumping a double and Jake Tumblin racking up two hits and three stolen bases. Korzan, Tumblin and Morgan Payne each had an RBI, while Etzell and Josh Bayne also collected steals.

Coming into the season, pitching was a strong suit for the Wolves, with Etzell, Curtin, Aaron Trumbull, Bayne, Schaef and others forming a strong staff. But that staff may be even deeper than thought.

Sophomore CJ Smith, who transferred to Coupeville during basketball season, made his debut on the mound in the seventh and closed the game with a bang. Facing the top of the order for the Falcons, he retired them one-two-three on just eight pitches.