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Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Nick Etzell (John Fisken photo)

   Nick Etzell teamed with Ty Eck to toss a five-inning no-hitter Monday, propelling Coupeville High School JV baseball to a 12-1 win. (John Fisken photo)

Cameron Toomey-Stout, seen here in an earlier varsity game, crunched one of Coupeville's four extra-base hits Monday.

   Cameron Toomey-Stout, seen here in an earlier varsity game, crunched one of Coupeville’s four extra-base hits.

Just give them a chance.

Finally able to take the field for the first time this season Monday, the Coupeville High School JV baseball squad came out on fire.

Raining down nine hits, including four extra-base knocks, the Wolves romped to a 12-1 win in Concrete.

And it wasn’t just the bats that were hot, as freshman Ty Eck and sophomore Nick Etzell combined to toss a five-inning no-hitter, while the glove work behind them was nearly impeccable.

The Wolves were locked in on arrival, raining down runs early and often.

Matt Hilborn, Cameron Toomey-Stout, Kory Score and Etzell all whacked extra-base hits as Coupeville scored nine in the first three innings, then coasted home for the victory.

“A good start,” said Coupeville coach Chris Smith. “The bats were electric and we had error-free defense behind the pitchers.”

Eck got the start on the mound and struck out five of the nine hitters he faced in three perfect innings of work.

Etzell retired six of the seven Lions he saw — losing one on a walk —  and notched another strike-out.

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The many moods of Ben Olson.

The many moods of Ben Olson.

Not so very long from now, we’re going to reach a point in time when we’ll start to talk about video stores, and kids will be like, “Huh, what?”

Doesn’t matter that I spent 15 years being well paid to goof off in them, and that they are a key part of my life.

As Netflix, streaming, and downloads, legal and otherwise, eventually erase all memories of Videoville, David’s DVD Den and (gag me) Blockbuster, a new generation will be culturally bereft.

So, it’s a good thing we’ll still have folks like Ben Olson to hold on to a few of those memories.

The young Mr. Olson, who celebrates a birthday today, grew up in those video store aisles before going on to become a basketball and baseball player at Coupeville High School.

Ben and lil’ bro Daniel, now a middle school hoops star, were regular fixtures at both video stores I worked at, and both usually spent more time behind the counter than in front of it.

Which worked out nicely for me.

Need to collect a late fee? Always easier to do with the rock-em-sock-em Olson boys as my backup.

With Daniel on the computer and Ben on the till, I had even less work to do than normal, which, if you know anything about me, was just fine and dandy.

Once the second video store closed, we parted paths for a bit as I headed out to slave away on the prairie.

But when I came back to the world of school sports coverage, there they were, a little older, a lot taller (especially Ben) and still just as outgoing and friendly.

It’s been nice to see them still following the path of success they were already on years earlier.

While injuries have hampered Ben’s ability to dominate the court lately, he’s slid into working as a coach with Daniel’s SWISH basketball team and seems born to the job.

As he celebrates his cake day today, Olson remains one of the best CHS has to offer, a bright, adventurous dude with huge potential.

So happy birthday, Ben.

The video stores may be gone, but it’s always nice to see our alumni, official or unofficial, continuing to light up the world.

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CJ Smith, here making a thrown in an earlier game, whiffed nine on the hill Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

   CJ Smith, here making a throw in an earlier game, whiffed nine on the hill Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

They had their chances.

Looking to snap out of a recent offensive funk, the Coupeville High School baseball squad put runners on base Saturday.

Unfortunately, that’s where they left most of them, victim to double plays and stranded runner syndrome.

Unable to muster an offense to match pitcher CJ Smith’s performance on the mound, the Wolves fell 3-1 in a non-conference game at Friday Harbor.

After scoring 27 runs in its first three games, Coupeville has now been stuck on a single run for three straight contests.

Not surprisingly, the Wolves have lost all three of the low-scoring affairs, falling to 2-4 on the season.

They’ll get three chances to fix things next week, when they travel to Lynden Christian Tuesday, host Port Townsend Thursday and skip down the Island to visit South Whidbey Saturday, Apr. 2.

The middle match-up will be the 1A Olympic League opener for both the Wolves and RedHawks (0-4).

Facing off with the host Wolverines (3-0), Coupeville got stellar work from Smith.

The senior hurler whiffed nine batters while tossing a complete game.

CJ pitched a great game,” said CHS coach Marc Aparicio. “Unfortunately we just couldn’t make the runs work this game.

“We were caught in three double plays and left runners on in scoring position three times. One time with bases loaded,” he added. “Friday Harbor played a good game. Not much more to say.”

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Julian Welling (John Fisken photos)

   The batter ordered the high, hard cheese and Julian Welling is ready to deliver it piping hot. (John Fisken photos)

Connor McCormick

Airborne and elastic, CHS goalie Connor McCormick covers the entire net.

Mikayla Elfrank

   Hungry for another big hit, Mikayla Elfrank carries a big bat and knows how to use it.

Jacob Martin

 Jacob Martin auditions for the role of the T-1000 in the next “Terminator” film.

HUnter Smith

  Don’t try anything, cause Hunter Smith has his eye on you. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)

Tamika

   Tamika Nastali is aiming for the fence. Yep, the one way out there in center field. (Fisken photos)

Payton

Doubles ace Payton Aparicio reaches to the heavens as she unleashes a serve.

Uriel

Uriel Liquidano (3) keeps his foe as far away as possible.

Sylvia

   Currently sitting as the fastest 4 x 200 girls relay team in 1A, it’s (l to r) Sylvia Hurlburt, Makana Stone, Lindsey Roberts and Lauren Grove.

Friday was lovely.

Sunny, no rain, maybe just a ripple or two of breeze across the prairie.

So, of course, there was absolutely, positively no spring sports games scheduled for today.

As opposed to Wednesday, when Coupeville High School softball waged war while being lashed by gale force winds for three hours.

Such is life for athletes playing outside on a rock in the water in March.

Since we didn’t have any live action to report on, here are a collection of photos showcasing all five CHS sports teams, just to remind you what they look like when in action.

Why? Why not.

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Sophomore Julian Welling was a bright spot Tuesday, pitching strongly and crunching an RBI single. (John Fisken photos)

   Sophomore Julian Welling was a bright spot for Coupeville HS baseball Tuesday, pitching strongly and crunching an RBI single. (John Fisken photos)

Zane Bundy (left), who missed most of last year with an injury, scored his first goal of the season.

   Senior booter Zane Bundy (left), who missed most of last year with an injury, scored his first goal of the season Tuesday.

Some days you’re the big dog and some days you’re not.

Tuesday was one of those days when not much went right for the home town guys, as 2A Sequim came to Whidbey and polished off 1A Coupeville’s baseball and boys’ soccer squads in record time.

The visiting Wolves broke open a 2-2 tie on the pitch and romped past the host Wolves 7-2, just hours after Sequim jumped on Coupeville for eight runs in the first inning en route to a 13-1 romp on the diamond.

The non-conference losses dropped the CHS booters to 0-3 and the hardball squad to 2-3.

Both Coupeville teams get a bit of a break now, with several days to work on things before they face another live opponent.

Baseball returns to action with a trip to Friday Harbor Saturday, the first of a stretch in which it plays six of seven on the road.

Soccer is home through early April, but doesn’t play again until next Tuesday, Mar. 29, when the Wolves host Vashon Island.

The Coupeville booters struck early Tuesday, netting goals from Zane Bundy (his first of the season) and Abraham Leyva (his third in as many games).

But defensive miscues hurt the Wolves in the latter stages of the game, allowing Sequim to break open a 2-2 tie and eventually run away with what became a one-sided affair.

Coupeville has now been outscored 18-5 in its opening three games.

Over on the baseball diamond, things took a quick, and painful turn for the Wolves, as Sequim came out swinging from the heels.

A double, an RBI single, a three-run home run that cleared the fence in left with room to spare and another RBI single plated five runs before Coupeville could get a single out in the top of the first.

Sequim tacked on three more before the first frame was done, with the only saving grace being that two of the runs came home on a fielder’s choice and a sac fly, generating outs.

Making his first appearance this season, sophomore Julian Welling came on in relief in the first and provided the one bright, shining ray of hope for Coupeville.

He got out of the inning, finishing things with a come-backer to the mound, then crushed an RBI single in his first at-bat of 2016, plating CJ Smith in the bottom of the first.

Unfortunately, while Welling pitched strongly, retiring the first eight batters he faced, Coupeville’s offense went into a deep funk after his RBI single.

A third-inning single from Hunter Smith and a fifth-inning walk to pinch-hitter Cameron Toomey-Stout was all the Wolf hitters could come up with as the game moved quickly to its conclusion.

“It was a learning game,” Coupeville coach Marc Aparicio said. “Gave us a chance to mix people around and slowly rotate in guys who were returning (after being out the first four games).

“After this, we’ll put our best team forward, go for it and come out strongly.”

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