Coupeville Sports

   Lauren Rose was one of three Wolves to smack a double Thursday in a loss at Chimacum. (John Fisken photo)

“Well, we never got off the bus.”

The game after “The Game” proved to be a bit of a downer for the Coupeville High School softball squad and coach Kevin McGranahan.

Two days after battling Lynden Christian, the #1-ranked team in 1A, down to the final out, the Wolves struggled to find a rhythm Thursday and fell 7-4 at Chimacum.

The conference loss drops Coupeville to 6-3 overall, 1-1 in Olympic League play and puts them a half game behind Chimacum (1-0, 5-3), the defending league champs.

Klahowya (0-0, 5-4) and Port Townsend (0-1, 0-5) round out the standings.

While the Wolves played inspired ball against the high-flying Lyncs, something was missing in the first of three meetings with the Cowboys.

“The girls were not their usual selves all game,” McGranahan said.

Umpires with an inconsistent strike zone hurt Coupeville, especially in the early going.

“The girls were disciplined and not swinging at obvious balls being called strikes,” McGranahan said. “We tried to adjust but too little too late and to their credit they didn’t chase the bad pitches like we teach them.”

Lauren Rose lashed a double off the left field fence to pace the Wolf offense, while Hope Lodell and Katrina McGranahan added two-base knocks of their own.

The younger McGranahan also singled and struck out seven Chimacum batters while working in the pitcher’s circle.

Coupeville plays three of its next four at home, starting with a match-up against Klahowya Tuesday, Apr. 19, and the Wolves will look to get back to their winning ways quickly.

“We will regroup and tweak some things and have a few hard practices,” Kevin McGranahan said.