Coupeville Sports

Joey Lippo contemplates the end of the summer baseball season, while twin Skyy gets ready for a long day of cheering. (Connie Lippo photo)

It’s not the Stanley Cup, but it’ll do.

Coupeville grad Joey Lippo springs from a hockey-mad family, but Sunday night he and his relatives celebrated a baseball title in style.

Taking two wins on the final day of the season, with a big assist from the former Wolf, the Lynnwood Llamas captured the Cascade Collegiate League crown.

After thumping the Snoqualmie Chinooks 14-2 in the semifinals, Lippo and Co. edged the Salem Salamanders 6-5 in the championship contest.

The Llamas finish 16-6 overall, while playing in a six-team wooden bat league featuring players from NCAA and NAIA baseball programs.

Lynnwood entered the playoffs as the #1 seed, yet almost didn’t have a full roster at game time.

With many players already returning to college, only eight of 22 Llamas were in uniform, but the day was saved when a ninth player showed up right before the first pitch.

Once on the field, Lynnwood dominated in the opener, getting big home runs from Drew Biggerstaff and PJ Moritz.

Lippo lashed a three-run double to break things open, staking the Llamas to a 10-1 lead, then closed out the mercy rule-shortened win by pitching the final inning.

Getting his arm loose would come up big for the former Wolf, who came on to pitch five innings of relief in the nightcap.

Holding Salem scoreless for the first four of those frames, before tiring a bit in the seventh, Lippo left the mound with a 6-4 lead and earned the victory.

He scattered five hits, and his best inning came in the top of the sixth, when he used just four pitches to set the Salamanders down 1-2-3.

Lippo, who reached base three times in the finale, is now off to the fishing hole before returning to the University of Maine at Presque Isle, where he’ll be a sophomore.

Time to go fishin’. (Photo courtesy Teresa Besaw)