Top to bottom, from left column: Brendan Coleman, Aaron Curtin, Aaron Trumbull, Carson Risner, Kurtis Smith, Ben Etzell, Korbin Korzan, Brian Norris, Morgan Payne, Jake and Chris Tumblin, Wade Schaef, Paul Schmakeit, Kyle Bodamer.
Today is historical.
Five years ago to the day, Coupeville stood tall and shocked the world.
Capping a miracle run, the Central Whidbey Little League Junior (13-14) baseball squad stormed from behind to upend West Valley and win a state title.
It took three runs in the bottom of the seventh just to force extra innings, then one more in the tenth to win, but, in the end, the pride of the prairie pulled out a 10-9 win on Saturday, July 24, 2010.
It is a day that will live in the memory banks of those 13 Coupeville players and coach Chris Tumblin, a day when they refused to let early despair win out.
Central Whidbey had fallen 4-3 earlier that day, losing on a balk in the seventh. It could have destroyed them, but it didn’t.
That resolve showed through in the final game, as the future Wolves refused to buckle, even when they fell behind 5-0 after just two innings of play.
Chipping away, Central Whidbey closed to 9-6, but stood three outs away from a season-ending loss.
Then, as it had done all postseason, the squad rallied.
Stringing together hits from Aaron Trumbull, Wade Schaef and Morgan Payne, mixed in with a West Valley error or two, Whidbey got all three runs it would need.
Given new life, the small-town diamond men handed the ball to Kurtis Smith.
Smith surrendered just one lone hit over the next three innings, and, in the tenth, kicked off Central Whidbey’s offense with a double of his own.
A walk to Jake Tumblin put two runners on, before Smith was forced at third on a fielder’s choice on which Ben Etzell reached first.
A bit of luck kept the rally alive, as Tumblin, caught in a rundown on an attempted steal, busted up the pickle and slapped his hand on third before the tag.
Cue history, as Trumbull lashed an infield single that plated the speedy Tumblin and set off a celebration that went on for days.
The first-ever state title for a team coming out of District 11 (Skagit and Island counties), it remains, five years later, as a defining moment in local sports history.
Eight of the 13 players would go on to play four years of baseball at Coupeville High School, and every one of the players now owns a diploma from the school.
As they move forward with their lives and accomplish new things, they will remain linked, by one day when they stood as a team, as brothers, and ruled the entire state.
Coupeville Sports 