Coupeville Sports

   “Yep, batting gloves do NOT taste good…” Having worked that out, Chelsea Prescott returns to her hitting duties. (John Fisken photos)

Sage Sharp goes low in pursuit of the perfect bunt.

Daniel Olson takes one for the team.

   CHS hardball stars (l to r) Taylor Consford, Jonathan Thurston and Clay Reilly can’t stay out of the dugout.

Hawthorne Wolfe waits patiently for an incoming delivery.

   Wolf catcher Matt Hilborn gets tangled up with a runner during a bang-bang play at the plate.

Maybe they play better on a full stomach.

Fortified by a between-games potluck lunch, the Central Whidbey Babe Ruth baseball squad bounced back with a vengeance Saturday afternoon, knocking off the Mount Vernon Diamond Dawgs.

The 5-3 win, fueled by a big RBI double off the bat of Cody Roberts, avenged an 8-3 loss earlier in the day, and gave the two teams a split of their weekend doubleheader.

The Wolves come out of the twin-bill sporting a 3-5 record on the season.

Game 1:

One rough inning derailed what was otherwise a very-close game.

Central Whidbey’s starting pitcher, Daniel Olson, tossed six strong innings, and helped his own cause by picking runners off of second base not once, not twice, but three separate times.

The only inning his pick-off move couldn’t completely save the day was in the top of the third, when the Wolf defense imploded for a moment or two.

Racking up three errors in a four-batter sequence, Central Whidbey saw a 2-1 lead slip away and turn into what became an insurmountable 5-2 deficit.

Maybe it was the early morning sunshine. The light prairie breeze. Gloves that weren’t properly oiled.

Whatever the cause, the Wolves picked up errors in six of seven innings in the opening game, and it made the job tougher for Olson and reliever Gavin Knoblich.

When Central Whidbey did hold on to the ball, however, it often sparkled on the defensive side.

George Dailey ended a threat in the sixth with a nifty double play, spearing a liner at short, then gunning down a runner who had strayed off of second thinking the ball was outfield-bound.

Olson had his pick-off move working flawlessly, of course, while second-baseman Scott Hilborn made a strong play on a hard chopper into the gap, knocking it down while on the move, then recovering and throwing the runner out.

The capper came on a play in the seventh.

Scott Hilborn started things with a throw to third-baseman Xavier Murdy, immediately followed by X-Man pivoting and laying the ball into catcher Matt Hilborn’s glove to nab a runner steaming home.

Central Whidbey scratched out three hits in the opener, with Ulrik Wells thumping a double while Knoblich and Murdy singled.

The Wolves plated runners on bases-loaded walks to Wells and Sage Sharp, while Scott Hilborn rung up the third, shooting home while Dailey danced out of a pickle after being caught in no-man’s land between second and first.

Game 2:

A complete reversal of fortune, as Central Whidbey, fueled by hot dogs, beans, brownies and the like, was locked-down on defense.

Only one error the entire game this time around, and even that was questionable, as the ball took a late hop on the fielder.

With Matt Hilborn dealing BB’s on the mound — he whiffed six in five innings of work — the Wolves were in control from the start.

They also jumped on Mount Vernon while at the plate, and this time it was the Diamond Dawgs who got the yips with the gloves.

Four errors, a perfectly-placed single to center by Roberts, and smart Wolf base-running led to three runs in the first, and Central Whidbey never gave the lead back.

When Mount Vernon sliced the deficit to 3-2, the Wolves immediately responded.

With a runner at third with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Wells brought one run home, smacking the ball off the third-baseman’s glove, then Roberts struck again.

Cranking the ball into deep right field, he ended up on second base with an RBI double, and the game was signed, sealed and delivered.

Roberts finished with two hits in the nightcap, while Caleb Meyer and Sharp added singles.

All 13 players in the Central Whidbey dugout saw extensive playing time, with Johnny Carlson carrying home multiple bruises after getting plunked twice in the opening game.

Hawthorne Wolfe and Chelsea Prescott chipped in with stellar defensive work, with Wolfe playing several infield positions and Prescott crisply rifling in throws while patrolling left field.

To see more photos from this game (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes), pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/2017-Coupeville-Baseball/20170513-Babe-Ruth-vs-Diamond-Dogs/