Coupeville Sports

   Even with a final-inning loss Tuesday, Central Whidbey is flying high at 14-1 on the season. (Stephanie Pulliam photo)

Live by the walk-off, die by the walk-off.

For a moment, it looked like the Central Whidbey Little League Minors baseball squad had pulled off its second burst of final-inning magic in three days.

A lead-off home-run in the top of the sixth Tuesday staked the squad to a one-run lead.

As Peyton Caveness stamped on home, remaining undefeated and cruising into the championship game of the Henry Pope Memorial Tournament looked all but certain.

But it wasn’t to be.

Unlike Sunday, when Central Whidbey was playing as the home team, and a home-run ended the game on the spot, Tuesday the Coupeville kids had to shut down their foes in the bottom of the sixth to notch another win.

And this time, for the first time all season, they couldn’t get the outs.

South Whidbey #2 sent three hitters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, plated the first two, and sprinted off with a 3-2 win.

The loss put the first ding in a 14-1 record for Central Whidbey and drops it into the loser bracket of the double-elimination tourney.

The hardball warriors, who have won two of three at the tourney, return to the South End Wednesday for a loser-out game.

Win and they get a rematch with South Whidbey #2 Thursday. Win that one, and the two squads play a rubber game for the tourney title Friday.

Tuesday’s game was a pitcher’s duel most of the way.

The teams exchanged zeroes on the scoreboard until the fourth, when Central Whidbey finally broke through.

Levi Pulliam smacked a one-out single to get things started, followed by a two-out RBI triple off the bat of Jack Porter.

Unfortunately for Central, Porter was stranded at third, a fate suffered earlier in the game by his brother Johnny, who also crunched a two-out triple, only to watch as the next CW hitter also went down on strikes.

South Whidbey scraped out its own run in the bottom of the fourth, the teams exchanged goose eggs in the fifth, then the game went on its emotional see-saw in the final inning.

Central Whidbey collected seven hits, with Caveness (bunt single, inside the park home run) and Johnny Porter (single, triple) accounting for four.

Jack Porter’s triple and singles from Pulliam and Landon Roberts rounded out the attack.

The three-headed pitching beast of Chase Anderson, Pulliam and Jordan Bradford whiffed 11 South Whidbey hitters across the six-inning game.

Mike Robinett, John Rachal, Alex Smith and Kyrese Simpson also saw action for Central Whidbey.