Coupeville Sports

   Freshman Mollie Bailey had two hits Friday against 2A Lakewood. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“We stepped out of our weight class tonight and we learned some valuable lessons.”

Coupeville High School softball coach Kevin McGranahan was philosophical after watching his squad get clubbed 20-5 Friday by visiting Lakewood.

While the non-conference loss to a large 2A school drops the Wolves to 11-5 on the season, it could actually benefit Coupeville in the long run.

As CHS preps for the district tourney, getting the chance to face off with dynamic, successful teams like Lakewood (which is 13-4) will harden them for the job ahead.

“We played a good team that is offensively sound,” McGranahan said. “We didn’t play our best defense, but, in our defense, they did hit the ball hard.

“They were a good team and we may have lost even if we played error-free, but, if you give a good team a few cracks they will exploit it,” he added. “The bright spot, and it is what I hope the team takes away from this game, is how we kept trying to battle back.”

Trailing 10-0 headed to the bottom of the third, Coupeville rallied to score four in the frame, then came back to get a final run in the fifth.

Both successes were set up by strong play from freshmen like Chelsea Prescott, Mollie Bailey and Coral Caveness, which bodes extremely well for the future.

“A lopsided loss like this hurts,” McGranahan admitted. “But I hope we can bounce back and realize that this loss, though it hurts, will make us a better team for districts.”

Coupeville has two more regular-season games to go, at home May 9 against 2A Sequim and on the road May 11 at 2A Port Angeles.

After that, the Olympic League champs head to Lacey May 18-19 for the West Central District 3 tourney, from which two of four teams advance to state.

While the Wolves couldn’t keep up with the booming bats of Lakewood Friday, the Wolves did chip away for nine hits.

Bailey (1B, 2B) led the way, while Scout Smith also whacked a double.

Caveness, Lauren Rose, Katrina McGranahan, Chelsea Prescott, Veronica Crownover and Hope Lodell added singles.