Coop Cooper got aboard twice Thursday in Coupeville’s finale. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
They endured until the end.
Coming off back-to-back trips to the state tourney, the 2025 season didn’t go as planned for the Coupeville High School baseball squad.
The Wolves lost players to graduation, others to family moves or injury rehabs, and still more to a simple failure to turn out.
That left Steve Hilborn’s crew scrambling to field a roster, but they did, making do with 11 players, some of whom had never played before.
And, after a rough start, the Wolves showed promise, winning six of eight in the middle part of the campaign.
The end came Thursday, with the CHS diamond squad falling 12-0 to Northwest 2B/1B League champ Mount Vernon Christian, capping a 6-13 season.
But, in their play Thursday, where they stretched the Hurricanes out to the full seven innings on Senior Night, and in their resilience all spring, the Wolves are not defined entirely by their record.
They endured, and they continued to build for the future.
Seniors Landon Roberts, who played all four years, and Jesus Madrigal will depart, but the core of the squad can return next spring.
Hopefully with more reinforcements.
Thursday, after honoring their veterans, the Wolves handed the ball one last time to Roberts, and he gave them four innings on the mound, whiffing seven.
His final moment as a CHS pitcher was a called third strike, as Lindsey’s lil’ bro painted the corner one final time.
MVC pushed two runs across in the first, another in the second, and a game-busting five in the top of the third, taking advantage of a couple of errors.
Carson Grove has three more seasons to chuck heat.
After that, Roberts and freshman Carson Grove, who came on in relief in the fifth, shut down the ‘Canes, tossing three consecutive scoreless innings.
While Mount Vernon tossed four runs on the board in the seventh to stretch out the final margin, the game felt closer than the score.
Coupeville had its chances, getting runners aboard in five of the seven frames, but came up just short of that one big base knock that would of have potentially launched a comeback.
Twice the Wolves had two runners on the basepath at the same time, but both times MVC escaped unscathed thanks to solid work on defense.
With the win, the Hurricanes will carry the top seed into the District 1 tourney next week and are a win away from punching their ticket to state.
Coupeville is done for this season, but at 5-7 in league play, finish fourth in the seven-team NWL.
Better yet, the Wolves endured, and the future of the program is brighter for that.
Camden Glover (17) and Cooper should be back on the diamond next spring.
Thursday stats:
Coop Cooper — One single, one walk
Riley Lawless — One single
Landon Roberts — One walk
Leo Rodriguez — One walk
Trent Thule — One single
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