Wolf pitchers (l to r) Landon Roberts, Camden Glover, Seth Woollet, and Coop Cooper celebrate. (Sherry Bonacci photo)
Never count ’em out.
After twice rallying from three runs down Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad forced extra innings with visiting La Conner, then KO’d the Braves on a walk-off hit.
When Camden Glover’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth hit paydirt on the prairie, it capped an improbable, but very rewarding 9-8 victory.
It also keeps the Wolves, now 3-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, just a game out of first place.
Coupeville, which is 4-7 overall heading into a trip to Forks Saturday, is tied with Friday Harbor in the NWL standings.
Those two sit a half-game behind Orcas Island (3-1) and a game back of current frontrunner Mount Vernon Christian (4-1) with half the season left to play.
Thursday’s titanic tilt went in favor of La Conner for much of the afternoon, though Coupeville kept chipping away and hanging around.
After trailing 1-0 early, the Wolves pushed two runners across in the bottom of the second to take their only lead of the game until the day’s final play.
Landon Roberts knotted the game at 1-1 on an RBI groundout, before Peyton Caveness, who leads the Wolves in most offensive categories this season, delivered an RBI single to put his team in front.
Peyton Caveness (8) fires up his team. (Jackie Saia photo)
Coupeville wouldn’t score again until the fifth, however, giving the Braves ample opportunity to surge back in front.
Four runs in the top of the third put La Conner up 5-2, but then Wolf pitchers strung together three scoreless frames to give their offense time to warm back up.
CHS notched a pair of runs in the fifth, with Steven Gonzalez, Carson Grove, and Roberts stepping up with big-time hits, before the Wolves got all the way back with a tally in the sixth.
Cole White lashed a single, stole second, scooted to third on a wild pitch, then screamed home with the tying run when La Conner once again couldn’t maintain control of the madly bouncing baseball.
Back in a 5-5 tie, the Wolves were rocking and rolling and then … gave it all right back.
The Braves smacked a pair of base hits and took advantage of a Coupeville error to plate three runners in the top of the seventh, and things looked bleak.
Until they didn’t, as the yo-yo effect the game had continued to play out in often surprising fashion.
Grove, just an 8th grader, delivered his second hit of the game to lead off Coupeville’s last stand, but was promptly erased thanks to a fielder’s choice.
The Wolves kept coming, however, with a single from Roberts and a walk to Glover keeping things interesting.
Seth Woollet skittered home on a wild pitch to cut it back to 8-6, Caveness launched a sac fly to make it 8-7, and then the game ended.
Or it should have.
White lofted a fly ball that would have been the final out, except La Conner fudged the catch, the ball popping loose from the third baseman’s glove as Glover steamed home with the tying run.
Given new life, and extra baseball, Coupeville took advantage.
Roberts, the fourth Wolf to take the mound on the day, set the Braves down in order in the top of the eighth, as the visitors went down swinging one-two-three.
“Don’t stop believing!” (Ember Light photo)
That sent the hometown heroes back to the plate with the game in their hands, and they played their final song to precision.
Woollet poked a leadoff hit, before Roberts dropped a gorgeous bunt down the third-base line, beating the throw for an infield single.
An error on the La Conner first baseman moved the winning run to third, and Glover rose to the moment, immediately punching a solid line drive to left to plate Woollet and set off a celebration.
That capped a 15-hit performance for the Wolves, with Glover and Roberts leading the way with three base knocks apiece.
Caveness and Grove each added two, with Jack Porter, White, Gonzalez, Coop Cooper, and Woollet rounding out the hit parade.
Coupeville’s pitchers combined to whiff 12 Braves, with Glover picking up six K’s to lead the way. Roberts (3), Woollet (2), and Cooper (1) also chipped in to the effort.
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