Mikayla Elfrank, seen here during practice, scored twice in her first game as a Wolf. (John Fisken photos)
CHS freshman Sarah Wright had an impressive debut Saturday, crunching a triple and a single while hitting into a deadly wind.
One game in and Sarah Wright already has this whole high school softball thing down pat.
Making a smashing debut, the Coupeville High School freshman catcher whacked both of her team’s hits Saturday, sparking the scrappy, small-ball-lovin’ Wolves to a 4-1 Opening Day win over visiting South Whidbey.
Overcoming a steady wind that ripped in from center field, a strikeout-happy opposing hurler and an umpire who made some calls that would indicate he might have hit the beer tent at Mussel Fest before taking the field, CHS gave new coach Kevin McGranahan a victory in his debut.
Fielding a roster without a single senior, Coupeville’s starting lineup featured two freshmen and five sophomores.
Reunited with McGranahan, who many of the current Wolves played for as little league players, they looked loose, happy and confident, a marked change from last year.
Even when they had difficulty early with Falcon pitcher Mackenzee Collins, who whiffed eight in the first three innings en route to 16 K’s on the day, Coupeville’s core never crumbled.
“The girls stayed in the game and didn’t hang their heads, even when we were down,” Kevin McGranahan said. “They’re not a team that is ever going to quit on you, and they never did.”
With Collins virtually untouchable in the early going, giving up just a walk to fellow hurler Katrina McGranahan her first time through the Wolf lineup, South Whidbey didn’t need much to take control.
The Falcons got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third, when they staged an inadvertent rally.
Katrina McGranahan had torched eight of the first nine South Whidbey hitters she faced, but then had a brief bout of wildness and walked the bags full with two outs.
Perhaps rattled just a bit, a pitch got away from her, skipped on the ground and plunked a Falcon hitter who made no effort to get out of the way.
To the disbelieving howls of Coupeville’s large (and very cold) fan base, the ump awarded South Whidbey first base, forcing home a run.
As the specter of an agonizing 1-0 loss on a questionable, at best, call, hung in the air, the Wolves simply shrugged their shoulders and went to work.
From that point on, Coupeville’s defense was superb behind their mound warrior, and Katrina McGranahan responded with precision pitches, eventually ringing up 12 strikeouts of her own.
Playing error-less ball, with middle infielders Jae LeVine and Mikayla Elfrank both pulling off superb plays on tricky balls, the Wolves set themselves up to retake the lead, and immediately responded.
And they did it with panache, using small ball, gutty base-running and a go-go style to rattle the Falcons.
Coupeville broke through in the bottom of the fourth, putting two across (though it should have been three).
Elfrank, a former Falcon playing her first game in the red and black, led off with a walk, then scampered to third, taking advantage of tentative play from South Whidbey’s catcher.
She came around to knot things up a play later, on another botched play by the Falcons, before Wright finally recorded Coupeville’s first hit of the season.
It was a ferociously-hit single which took off like a rocket, hit an air pocket, spun in place in mid-air, then plopped at the edge of the infield as three infielders went in different directions.
On the edge of falling apart, the Falcons lost the lead on a successful steal of home by Katrina McGranahan, but were saved (for a moment) when Wright was called out on a bang-bang play at home.
This despite clearly sliding under the catcher’s glove, beating the throw by what felt like a good five or six seconds.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead, instead of continuing to rack up runs, the Wolves just kept at it, seemingly oblivious to any wailing from their fan section.
Thoroughly in command when in the field, Coupeville tacked on two more runs in the sixth.
Elfrank reached base when the Falcon catcher dropped a third strike, then whipped the ball off the runner’s back while scrambling to recover.
Though sporting a potential new bruise, the Wolf sophomore boldly took second and third on consecutive pitches before charging home on yet another passed ball.
Wright capped things with the one truly magnificent hit of the afternoon.
With Katrina McGranahan perched on base, the frosh phenom mashed a ball that shot down the first base line, low enough to evade the slicing wind.
Curving viciously, Wright’s shot ripped a chunk out of the outfield grass in fair territory, then shot to the right and headed for the shrubbery as a Falcon vainly tried to snag it.
By the time the ball came back in, Wright had hauled tail into third with the first, but undoubtedly far from the last, triple of her prep career.
The three-bagger earned plenty of hooting and hollering from the bleachers, where the player Wright most resembles in terms of game-changing power, former CHS slugger Hailey Hammer, was camped out.
It was the perfect cap to an auspicious start for a young, talented squad whose future is as bright as the sun that finally broke out, in typical Whidbey fashion, just when it was time for fans to go home.
Coupeville Sports 
I am horrified that this article could be written this way. You make it seem as if the Coupville team was some great team! And no, our team is not great either, we have many new girls that have never even played in a softball game in there life until yesterday. But, you guys were not much better than us, and you make it sound like you were. They couldn’t hit off our pitcher at all! They only had two hits, one of which was a fly ball in the infield. And that play at home, where Wright was called out? That was not a bad call, because your player slid but never made it to home plate! And our catcher was there! Speaking of which, our catcher was home with a very high fever, in the game yesterday was a girl who had never caught before in her life! And yet still, 17 of you girls struck out. That’s impressive to me, but not for you guys. And if you count drop third strikes, there were 20 strikeouts. They struck out 20 times!, and got lucky that we had a girl brave enough to take one for the team and try catching. And yes, our team is not some great team either, we have many new girls this year that have never even played in a softball game until yesterday. But please, do not feel the need to exaggerate everything good for your team, because eventually, it just turns into lies.
Wait … you were expecting an impartial story on a blog called … “Coupeville Sports?” Apparently you missed the previous 4,000+ articles over the past 4 years. Maybe don’t go back to the early days, when I actually used to pick on South Whidbey, cause your head might explode. P.S. — Had no idea your starting catcher was out sick. Hope she feels better soon. Seriously.
You’re right, I don’t expect an impartial story, but I don’t expect lies. “A ferociously-hit single?” It was a pop fly, in the infield. “Collins was virtually untouchable in the early going?” Did they catch up to her? There were only two hits off her. “Plunked a falcon hitter who made no effort to get out of the way…To the disbelieving howls of coupvilles large fanbase…the ump awarded South Whidbey first base…” I don’t understand this one..our player got hit by a pitch and the umpire was, what, supposed to call it a strike?? “Despite clearly sliding under the catchers glove, beating the throw by what felt like a good 5 or 6 seconds.” The part that I believe was missed by you, was the part when the Coupville coach went over to the umpire to debate the call, and the ump told him that your player slid, but never actually touched home plate. Your coach realized that he could not argue this, and walked away. There’s a difference between rooting for your team, celebrating a win, supporting them, and looking at the positives rather than just lying. I do not expect you to support SW at all, but don’t just lie about the game to make it seem like something it wasn’t.
Let’s go through your criticism.
1) The ball was hard hit coming off the bat, but smacked into wind, which blunted it. “Ferociously-hit” might be a bit much, but I am prone to hyperbole and I am writing for Wolf fans, not Falcon fans.
2) Collins was untouchable for much of the game, other than Wright’s 3B, which, I’m sure you would concede, was well-hit. But, she did walk batters, she didn’t hold runners very well, making life tougher on her first-time catcher and she lost 4-1. She’s a strong pitcher, but her day wasn’t perfect.
3) The hit batter. The ball skipped off the ground, leading many to believe it was dead. The batter made no effort to get out of the way of the pitch. The umpire is supposed to take that into consideration. This one chose not to.
4) Large fan base? It was a home game. There were more CHS fans than SWHS fans, and they were louder and unhappy with the call. Not sure how we disagree on that.
5) The slide at home. From my angle, which was a lot closer than the coaches, she appeared to fully touch the plate. The plate ump, who had trouble keeping track simple things like balls, strikes and outs said she didn’t. I think he was wrong. The CHS coach chose not to argue. That’s his call.
In the end, it’s a biased, pro-Coupeville blog. I don’t work for the Canadian-owned newspapers on this Island any more and gave up any appearance of impartiality.
I feel for South Whidbey, because you have very talented kids down there and they don’t get the sports coverage they deserve. The Record stinks, and the Falcons deserve better.
It would be nice if someone was doing for SWHS what I am doing here in Coupeville.
And hey, I actually do appreciate hearing both sides, praise and criticism. Praise is always nicer, but I also need people rapping my knuckles to make me think about my coverage and writing style. You can contact me personally at davidsvien@hotmail.com if that helps.
1) Yes, “ferociously hit” was a” bit” much
2) Yes, Collins was untouchable for almost the entire game, and “she didn’t hold runners well” is because there was a catcher who was unable to throw someone who stole a base out, and had trouble catching the ball, simply because she is not a catcher. True, the day for her wasn’t perfect, but maybe with the starting catcher it would have been pretty close.
3) Because the ball skipped on the ground, it is not dead. In fact, our player could have swung at it, gotten a hit, and it still would have been a live ball. That’s just the fans not knowing the rules.
4) I said nothing bad about the large fanbase at Coupville, I think it’s great that there were so many people supporting the girls, especially for a Saturday game.
5) The umpire had a much closer view than the coaches OR you, he was right by the plate when the slide happened.
You’re right, I think it’s great that Coupville has someone rooting for them, and sticking up for them, and supporting them, and looking at the positives of every game. But in the end, even though you’re being supportive of Coupville, it’s still not right to lie about the game.
I don’t mean to “rap your knuckles”, I am just very passionate about softball, and I care about the girls who play it.
I have no doubt it would have been a closer game if the Falcon’s starting catcher was not ill.
Still, SW would have had to score at some point, and, while McGranahan was not as overpowering as Collins in the circle, she did get 12 K’s and her defense was fairly spotless behind her.
It would be interesting to have these teams play again later in the season, without the wind, with healthy rosters and with a better umpiring crew in place.
Too bad that won’t happen. Hey, maybe in the playoffs.
In fact, SW did score, an RBI by a newcomer to the sport that scored Collins, who had hit a single up the middle.
But yes, it would be interesting, maybe we can have another game near the end of the season…each team does have girls that have played on each team, I’m sure they would love it
Well, let’s not blow the RBI out of proportion, when it came via a “bad” ump’s judgement call on a HBP on a ball that skipped on the ground first…
Do that, and you start to sound like me when it comes to the hyperbole. 🙂
But seriously, though, all the best to Falcon SB. I hope you guys tear through the Cascade Conference and we do see you again in the playoffs.
I wouldn’t blow it out of proportion, but it was a good solid hit. (Once again just because the ball hit the ground first, does not mean it wasn’t a HBP, the ball is still live).
Same to Coupville, I hope they have a great season, they have very nice girls who work hard, and I look forward to playing them again