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Snappy pics, as far as the eye can see!!

Posted in Baseball, Girls Tennis, Softball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, girls tennis, John Fisken photos, Softball on March 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Wolf hurler Katrina McGranahan, throwin’ heat on a cold day. (John Fisken photos)

Hard-court assassin Sage Renninger delivers another winner.

Freshman phenom Matt Hilborn comes up firing at third.

Net ace Jazmine Franklin gives one final look back at the opponent she just toasted.

The mound was a little mucky, but Hunter Smith’s pitches were downright nasty.

Having tagged the runner out, Mikayla Elfrank can taste the double play she’s about to finish.

Hardball guru Chris Smith (left) has a meeting of the minds with catcher Cole Payne and son Hunter.

No softball gets past Jae LeVine. Why? She’s too quick. They don’t call her “Flash” for nothing.

Silhouetted against the prairie (and the ever-present rain clouds), new Wolf softball coaches Kevin and Justine McGranahan enjoy a quiet moment with their easily-excitable squad.

The prairie was poppin’ Monday.

Despite the ever-present threat of rain (it never fully arrived) and wind (mostly absent for once), all three Coupeville High School sports teams in action were able to put an (almost) full day in.

The Wolf softball and baseball squads dropped close contests to Sultan, while the CHS netters were drubbing 2A Granite Falls when their courts got too slippery to continue.

Madly bouncing around from site to site, travelin’ photo man John Fisken snapped away, and the pics above are courtesy him.

To see more, and possibly purchase some, thereby helping fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes, pop over to:

Baseball — http://www.olympicleague.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=10939&league=21&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0

Softball — http://www.olympicleague.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=10937&league=21&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0

Tennis — http://www.cascadeathletics.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=10934&league=2&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=21&sport=0

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Lucero chases big baseball dreams!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Dane Lucero, Missouri, St. Louis Cardinals on March 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Dane Lucero

Dane Lucero would like to be wearing red on the baseball field for a long time.

The Coupeville High School freshman, who started and whacked an RBI double Monday in the season opener for the Wolves, grew up rooting for another team that heavily features that color on their uniforms.

“I have played baseball since I was six years old,” Lucero, a Missouri native, said. “I started playing because I enjoyed baseball, wanted to play ball with my friends, and I wanted to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.”

He made an immediate impact in his Wolf baseball debut, swinging a big stick for Marc Aparicio’s young squad.

It’s something he hopes to keep doing as the season goes forward.

“I want to drive in as many runs as possible to help my team win and play to my potential in the field and on the mound,” Lucero said.

Also a football player for CHS, he can often be found putting in work in the weight room.

A hard worker all around, Lucero knows that’s the key to building on his early success.

“I’m a solid hitter, pitcher, and fielder, but I can improve those aspects of the game more,” he said. “This includes my speed and athleticism.

“I like the fact that it takes a lot of work to be good at the sport and it’s not a sport you can just pick up a bat and be great at.”

When he’s not playing, Lucero enjoys watching TV, hanging out with friends and exploring his new state. A fan of rap music and comedy and action films, he’s also strong in the classroom.

“I enjoy history, because I like learning about important things that happened a long time ago,” Lucero said.

As he moves forward in his baseball career, the hard-hitting frosh is quick to acknowledge those who have helped him, and continue to do so.

“I am thankful that God gave me the ability to play the game that I love,” Lucero said. “I am also thankful for my coaches and my parents for letting me play travel ball and always getting the coaching that I need to play at the next level.”

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Wolf frosh rockets to success!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, football, gym, Matt Hilborn on March 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Matt Hilborn (John Fisken photo)

Matt Hilborn wasted little time.

The Coupeville High School freshman stepped right on the field Monday, starting for the Wolf varsity baseball squad and making an immediate impact in the first game of a new season.

Playing in a one-run game against Sultan, he took the mound in the seventh, after previously playing at third, and set the side down one-two-three to give the Wolves a fighting chance.

His success in his high school debut was the continuation of a long run that started when he first played t-ball at age five.

Hilborn’s dad, Steve, a longtime local coach, got Matt started and he’s come to love the diamond game.

“I enjoy defense mostly and pitching, because baseball is the only sport where you start with the ball on defense,” Hilborn said. “I think my strengths are playing middle infield and third, and also pitching.”

A two-sport athlete at CHS (he also played football in the fall, starring for the JV and getting some snaps and a tackle at the varsity level), he enjoys spending time with friends and chooses gym as his favorite class.

For the moment, he’s intently focused on baseball, and wants to continue to improve on the stellar work he put in Monday.

“I would like to work on hitting,” Hilborn said. “My goals for the season are to play varsity and hit/pitch well.”

He credits his extended family for all chipping in to help make him the player he is fast becoming.

“Shout out to my parents for making me the person I am,” Hilborn said. “They have had a big impact on my baseball career.

“Also my cousin Justin and uncle Charlie helped me get better at baseball.”

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90 feet from paradise!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Dane Lucero, Jim Waller, one-run game, Opening Day on March 14, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Senior catcher Cole Payne is a rock behind the plate for the Wolves. (John Fisken photos)

Freshman Matt Hilborn tossed a perfect seventh in his high school debut.

First games are tricky things.

When you’re a brand new coach stepping on the field for the first time, you can never fully know what to expect.

Jim Waller, currently the Sports Editor at the Whidbey News-Times, got ten-runned during his first game at the helm of the Oak Harbor High School baseball squad.

30 years, 300+ wins and one induction into the Washington State High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame later, and he recovered quite nicely.

Still, he remembers that game like it was yesterday.

Will the same hold true for Marc Aparicio?

Only time will tell.

The Coupeville High School grad, who once starred on the diamond for the Wolves, made his official debut Monday as their new head coach.

Like Waller, he took a loss, but this one was a tense one-run affair that ended with the tying run just 90 feet away.

Unfortunately for Aparicio and Coupeville, even though they got Joey Lippo to third with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, they couldn’t bring him home, letting Sultan slide away with a 6-5 non-conference win on Opening Day.

Fielding a very young squad — the Wolves had three freshmen and three sophomores in the starting lineup — CHS still came out aggressively.

Cole Payne, one of only two senior starters, knocked in sophomore Hunter Smith in the first to stake Coupeville to a 1-0 lead.

After falling behind 2-1, the Wolves rebounded with their best effort in the third, plating four base-runners, with the big hit, a double, coming from freshman Dane Lucero.

Coupeville couldn’t hold the lead, though, giving up three in the fourth to tie things up, then surrendering a go-ahead run in the fifth.

The Wolves made a bid to send the game into extra innings with a strong final inning.

After freshman reliever Matt Hilborn retired the side one-two-three in his debut, Lippo led off the bottom half of the seventh with a shot that was bobbled by a Turk defender.

Eventually perched on third, he was stranded, however, as Sultan’s hurler closed the game with a pair of strikeouts packaged around a come-backer.

While his squad lost, Aparicio came away largely happy with what he saw in his first go-around.

“We had a couple of errors in the beginning but recovered well,” he said. “I thought we got strong pitching from CJ (Smith), Hunter and Hilborn.

“My philosophy is to have us be aggressive on the bases and we were,” he added. “We missed a few signals, but we’ll work on that.”

Coupeville will hop right back into the thick of things with a home-and-away non-conference series against Concrete. Wednesday’s game (4:15 PM) is on Whidbey, followed by a road trip Friday.

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Diamond excellence? A family tradition!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, first base, Kyle Rockwell, Maria Rockwell, t-ball on March 11, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Kyle Rockwell (John Fisken photo)

The little brother is taking his place in the spotlight.

Coupeville High School sophomore Kyle Rockwell is swinging into action with the Wolf baseball squad this spring, following in the footsteps of sister Maria, who was a standout softball player during her time at CHS.

For Kyle, it’s the continuation of a life-long journey.

“I have played baseball since T-ball,” Rockwell said. “I started playing because I wanted to play baseball like my dad.”

Both mom Tina and dad Sheldon have played a sizable role in helping to shape their son’s development, on and off the field.

“My dad has had a big impact on my life because he made me who I am today and taught me how to play baseball when I was little,” Rockwell said.

As he enters his second season at the high school level, his goals are simple and straight forward.

“I want to get better and make it onto varsity,” Rockwell said. “My strengths are hitting and playing first base.

“I would like to work on throwing faster and longer distances.”

Away from the diamond he focuses on getting good grades, with an eye on going to college after graduation.

For now, though, baseball is what captivates his attention.

As he and his teammates prepare to kick off the season with a jamboree in Oak Harbor Saturday, Rockwell draws inspiration from a quote delivered by CHS coach Chris Smith.

“I like baseball because it is one of the only sports that starts with the ball when they are on defense.”

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