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Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Numbers don’t lie!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Tennis, Golf, Softball, Track, tagged , , , , on May 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville made it to state in five sports this spring.

Coupeville made it to state in five sports this spring.

Dear ATM, grab a few more hundred dollar bills and go wipe your sweet, sweet tears with them.

Whidbey Island ruled this spring.

There are eight teams in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference, and Coupeville and South Whidbey combined to claim 10 of the conference’s 23 appearances at state.

Both the Wolves and Falcons were represented in five of the six spring sports, as geographically isolated public schools came in ahead of the big bucks, scholarship-offering, big city programs.

Archbishop Thomas Murphy (four sports) and King’s (three) couldn’t match the Whidbey schools, while Cedarcrest (two), Sultan (two), Lakewood (one) and Granite Falls (one) trailed far behind.

Coupeville was the only school to send both its baseball and softball teams to state, while also qualifying in girls’ golf, track and boys’ tennis (the season is in the fall, but state in the spring).

South Whidbey was right there with the Wolves, with baseball, boys’ soccer, girls’ golf, track and girls’ tennis represented.

Track was the great equalizer, as all eight schools got athletes through to state, while softball and tennis were the most demanding, with only two schools hitting pay dirt in each sport.

Breakdown by sport:

Baseball — Coupeville, South Whidbey, ATM

Softball — Coupeville, Sultan

Boys’ soccer — ATM, King’s, South Whidbey

Golf — Coupeville, ATM, King’s, South Whidbey, Cedarcrest

Track — Coupeville, ATM, King’s, South Whidbey, Cedarcrest, Granite Falls, Sultan, Lakewood

Tennis — Coupeville, South Whidbey

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Big Ben league MVP!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , on May 27, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Ben Etzell gets nasty. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

Ben Etzell gets mobbed at home after scoring the game-winning run. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Etzell (3) gets mobbed at home after scoring a game-winning run.

They cracked the glass ceiling on the way out the door.

Playing in the final season of an eight-year run in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference, Coupeville High School finally got a major show of respect from league coaches with the selection of Wolf senior Ben Etzell as the baseball MVP.

It was the first time a CHS player had been picked as the league MVP in any sport by the conference.

Coupeville, the smallest 1A school in the state, is moving to the 1A Olympic League in the fall.

Etzell, who was dominant on the mound, striking out 15 batters in a game and tossing a no-hitter in another, helped lead CHS to a state tournament appearance, its first in several seasons.

“Very well deserved and he worked very hard to get there,” said Wolf baseball coach Willie Smith. “Also a nice reflection on his teammates and how good they were behind him.”

A chunk of those teammates were honored as well, with five other teammates being honored in All-Conference voting.

Seniors Jake Tumblin (C) and Kurtis Smith (OF) and juniors Josh Bayne (IF) and Aaron Trumbull (IF) were all named Second Team All-Conference, while sophomore CJ Smith (P) made honorable mention.

“The five others were all well-deserved as well,” Willie Smith said. “A great representation of our team this year.”

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One Whidbey, kickin’ your fanny!!

Posted in Baseball, South Whidbey: Not the Antichrist, Track, tagged , , , , , on May 25, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Exploding on the takeoff in the long jump.

Maia Sparkman explodes on the takeoff in the long jump. (John Fisken photo)

Coupeville coach Willie Smith and South Whidbey baseball guru Tom Fallon chat with the umps. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

  Coupeville coach Willie Smith and South Whidbey baseball guru Tom Fallon chat with the umps. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Well played, South Whidbey, well played.

This blog is called Coupeville Sports for a reason, but there are times when even the most die-hard of Cow Town folks can take a moment and tip our hats to the folks down in Langley.

We live on an Island, and as much as the Wolves and Falcons have always been, and will always be, the best of rivals, we can celebrate each others triumphs.

Lord knows the ATM’s and King’s of the world, and their brethren, need a paddle taken to their entitled, pompous rears as often as possible, and any win for a Whidbey athlete is a win for all of us “hicks.”

So take a moment with me to send congrats to a couple of South Whidbey people who I have found to be class acts all the way. They may not wear the red and black — our loss — but I wish them well all the same.

Tom Fallon guided his SWHS baseball team to its first trip to state in decades, where the Falcons and Wolves, who split their four games this year, accounted for 1/8th of the field at the 1A tourney.

South Whidbey opened with a 10-5 win over Tenino Saturday, then fell 1-0 to Richland in the afternoon to end its season, while Coupeville was nipped 2-1 by Rochester.

If Richland and Rochester win their state semifinals next weekend and play for the title game, they will do so with the knowledge they barely escaped the wonder twin power of Whidbey’s best.

Meanwhile, over in the heart of the beast (King’s home stadium), Whidbey track runners stepped up and made a huge impact at Tri-Districts.

We’re hugely enthusiastic about CHS sophomore Makana Stone advancing to state in the 400. She has the third-fastest time in 1A and is a second away from pulling off an upset and winning a state title.

But let’s also send a big thumbs up to South Whidbey senior Maia Sparkman, who qualified for state in the long jump and as a member of 4 x 100 and 4 x 400 relay teams.

At a time when I poked the Falcons frequently, Miss Sparkman was gracious enough to consent to an interview (https://coupevillesports.com/2013/06/30/the-falcons-are-alright-maia-sparkman-sparkles/), when she could have blown me off as several South Whidbey athletes did.

Fallon and Sparkman — class acts through and through, even if I think they’re wearing the wrong colors.

But deep down, the colors don’t always matter.

What does is one Whidbey, kickin’ ass and takin’ names. Always.

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Dream denied!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , on May 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell (left) and Jake Tumblin are among five Wolf seniors who will depart. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

   Ben Etzell (left) and Jake Tumblin are among five Wolf seniors who will depart. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

Junior Aaron Curtin still has a year left to to pitch and play third.

Junior Aaron Curtin still has a year left to pitch and play third.

So close. So very, very close.

Too many stranded runners came back to bite the Coupeville High School baseball squad in the rear Saturday morning in its state tournament game against Rochester.

Unable to find that one big rally, the Wolves fell 2-1 and saw their season come to a close at 14-11.

After leaving runners at third base in both the first and second innings, Coupeville broke through in the top of the fifth to net its lone run.

Ben Etzell, who had shut Rochester down from the mound, thumped a double and came around to score on a single from Aaron Trumbull.

The Warriors immediately struck back, however, scraping together a run in the bottom of the fifth and another in the sixth.

The damage in the sixth could have been worse, but Wolf catcher Jake Tumblin gunned down a potential base stealer and Etzell ended the inning on a strike out.

Coupeville had had a chance to reclaim the lead in the top of the sixth, loading the bases.

Josh Bayne reached on an error, Korbin Korzan beat out a bunt and Tumblin walked, but Rochester escaped when it got Kurtis Smith on a blooper for the third out.

In the seventh, with its season hanging in the balance, CHS went one-two-three.

Even though they didn’t reach their goal of traveling to Yakima for the Final Four, the Wolves had the most successful season in the four-year run of seniors Etzell, Tumblin, Smith, Wade Schaef and Morgan Payne.

“These boys had an amazing run, and an incredible journey from four years ago to today,” said Coupeville coach Willie Smith. “It is quite a special bunch with a lot of great personalities and huge hearts!”

Coupeville went 4-2 in the playoffs, finishing second at districts and third at tri-districts.

After playing mostly 2A competition in their final swing through the Cascade Conference, they finished 6-3 against fellow 1A teams.

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Like father, like son!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on May 24, 2014| Leave a Comment »

(Shelli Trumbull photo)

Trumbull Power. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

It’s a family tradition.

When Coupeville High School junior first baseman Aaron Trumbull takes the field this morning for the opening game of the 1A state baseball tournament, he’ll be following in the footsteps of his father.

Brad Trumbull, who will be in the stands watching his son play, was on the field himself back in 1987, when the Wolves went to state.

Today’s game in Anacortes against Rochester (win and CHS plays a second game in the afternoon for a shot at going to Yakima for the Final Four) is actually Aaron’s second trip to a state tourney.

As a seventh grader, he was a key member of the Central Whidbey little league team that won a state title.

Brad was along for that ride as a coach.

Today Aaron moves a step closer to adding another title to the trophy case, while carrying on what his proud papa started.

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