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JV baseball building a bright future

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 30, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Wolf leadoff hitter Landon Roberts, who had two hits Saturday, lets coach/dad Jon Roberts get a photo op. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

The score doesn’t tell the whole story.

While the Coupeville High School JV baseball squad fell 8-6 at Mount Vernon Saturday, the very-young Wolves have taken great leaps and bounds since the two teams clashed earlier this season.

Repping a 2B school, and facing a large 3A program, CHS started multiple 8th graders and yet hung with the big boys all afternoon.

“We played a far better game this time, and it shows the improvement my boys have made in just a little over two weeks,” said Wolf coach Jon Roberts.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll continue to say, the future of Coupeville baseball is in good hands!”

The first time the schools met in JV action, Mount Vernon claimed a 13-1 win.

This time around, with Aiden O’Neill, Landon Roberts, and Jack Porter sharing time on the mound, Coupeville, now 3-5-1 on the season, stifled the Bulldogs for quite some time.

The hosts pushed across a single run in each of the first, third, and fourth innings, then Coupeville struck back in the top of the sixth to claim the lead.

The Wolves had placed runners aboard in three of the first five innings but couldn’t get that one big hit to crack the seal on the scoreboard.

In the sixth, though, it finally happened.

Coop Cooper led off the frame by getting plunked by a wayward pitch, and that lit a fire under Coupeville.

An RBI single from Cole White plated one run, before Porter lashed a two-run triple to knot the game up at 3-3.

The Wolves weren’t finished, though, as Seth Woollet brought Porter in to score with a well-placed grounder, pushing Coupeville in front.

Mount Vernon rebounded in the bottom half of the sixth, scoring five runs with two outs, but Coupeville went down fighting in the final frame.

Kai Wong walked to kick things off, followed by Cooper and Landon Roberts smacking back-to-back singles.

An RBI groundout from White got Coupeville back within 8-6 before the Bulldogs finally escaped with a hard-fought victory.

Wolf hurlers O’Neill and Roberts finished the game with three strikeouts apiece.

 

Saturday stats:

Coop Cooper — 1 single, 1 walk
Aiden O’Neill — 1 single
Jack Porter — 1 triple
Johnny Porter — 1 single
Landon Roberts — 2 singles, 1 walk
Cole White — 1 single, 1 walk
Kai Wong — 1 walk

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Wolves offer up diamond farewells

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Sage Sharp was one of five CHS seniors to play their final home baseball game Friday. (Morgan White photo)

The end is here.

Well, at least one end.

The Coupeville High School varsity baseball team still has one last regular season game on the road to play, and then at least one playoff game.

But Friday marked the final time this season the Wolves will compete on their home field.

Playing on their own diamond for the final time, five CHS players had the moment captured on film by a bevy of snap-happy photographers.

Cody Roberts and family. (Morgan White photo)

L to r: Cole Hutchinson, Hawthorne Wolfe, Xavier Murdy, Sharp, Roberts. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Cole Hutchinson and his fan club. (Morgan White photo)

Xavier Murdy and associates. (Morgan White photo)

Wolf coach Will Thayer joins the celebration. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Hawthorne Wolfe offers a final goodbye. (Morgan White photo)

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One step closer to title town

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Hawthorne Wolfe and fellow Coupeville seniors won their final home game. (Morgan White photo)

“A great send off for our seniors!”

Coupeville High School varsity baseball coach Will Thayer was in a good mood Friday as afternoon faded into evening.

And why not?

His squad had bounced back from a non-conference loss a day before, pounding visiting Orcas Island 12-5 Friday on Senior Night.

The victory lifts the Wolves to 10-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 12-6 overall, with a road game at Darrington next Tuesday, May 3 the regular-season finale.

Coupeville remains a half-game up on Friday Harbor (9-1, 12-2) in the chase for the league crown.

While the Wolves finish at Darrington, the defending NWL champs host La Conner May 3, then travel to Orcas May 5.

If Coupeville and Friday Harbor — which split their two-game season series — finish in a tie, they will play May 12 on a neutral field in La Conner.

That game would be a winner-to-state, loser-out game.

But that’s down the road, and Friday was all about staying in the here and now and taking care of business.

Consider it mission accomplished for Coupeville.

On a day when CHS honored seniors Sage Sharp, Cody Roberts, Xavier Murdy, Cole Hutchinson, and Hawthorne Wolfe, the sun was out, the wind was sharp, and the Wolves were sharper.

Roberts was dealing on the mound, finishing with eight strikeouts while scattering just four hits.

Cody Roberts is in the mood to generate strikeouts. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Meanwhile, with Roberts reaching base four times, he and his teammates scorched Orcas pitching for 12 base-knocks and six walks, building an 11-0 lead, then coasting home for the win.

Coupeville broke through early, plating three runners in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a string of walks and a couple of key hits.

Peyton Caveness and Wolfe laced singles to knock the visiting Vikings back on their heels, and the rout was underway.

The third inning was Coupeville’s finest moment, as Jonathan Valenzuela crunched a triple as part of a game-busting five-hit, six-run explosion.

Up 9-0, the Wolves tacked on two more tallies in the fourth and a final run in the sixth, while Orcas scraped out four runs in the top of the fifth to keep from being mercy-ruled.

 

Friday stats:

Chase Anderson — 1 single
Peyton Caveness — 2 singles, 1 walk
Scott Hilborn — 1 single
Cole Hutchinson — 1 single, 1 walk
Xavier Murdy — 1 single, 1 walk
Cody Roberts — 2 singles, 2 walks
Sage Sharp — 1 walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — 1 single, 1 triple
Hawthorne Wolfe — 2 singles

Xavier Murdy and Co. are in first place in the Northwest 2B/1B League. (Morgan White photo)

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Hardball squads play to rare tie

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Landon Roberts and Coupeville JV baseball played to a 6-6 tie Thursday in Langley. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Well, that was unexpected.

Thursday’s JV baseball game between Coupeville High School and host South Whidbey started with an offensive bang, turned into a pitcher’s duel, then closed with another burst of runs.

Which all resulted in a … tie?

It’s true, as the Wolves and Falcons settled their 6-6 stalemate by calling it a day and not battling any longer into the fading sunshine.

Instead, the teams came away happy with getting to play a full seven frames — especially on a day when they followed the varsity in action — instead of a cut-down four or five inning affair.

With the tie Coupeville sits at 3-4-1 on the season, with a road trip to Mount Vernon this Saturday next up on the schedule.

Thursday’s royal rumble got started with an explosion of runs, as the Wolves slapped three runs on the board in the top of the first, only to have the Falcons respond with four of their own in the bottom half of the frame.

The opening Wolf rally was sparked by base-knocks from Aiden O’Neill, Seth Woollet, Chase Anderson, and Camden Glover.

With three of those four being only 8th graders, Coupeville’s offensive future is a bright one.

After combining for seven runs in the first inning, the teams only scratched out two more across the next five innings, with both of those coming from the Wolves in the third.

Cole White bopped a single to get things going, with Jack Porter mashing an RBI double to tie the game, and Landon Roberts ripping a run-scoring single to push CHS ahead 5-4.

The Wolves made it 6-4 in the seventh, after O’Neill was plunked, then came around to score when White launched a two-bagger.

Give South Whidbey credit, though, as the host team forced the tie by pushing two runs across in their last at-bats, all without getting a hit.

Two walks, some adventurous base-running, and an unfortunate Coupeville error left the door open just long enough for the stalemate to be forged.

Still, win, loss, or tie, the game showcased Coupeville’s bats, as all 10 players who saw the field collected a hit.

 

Thursday stats:

Chase Anderson — 1 single
Coop Cooper — 1 single
Camden Glover — 1 single, 1 walk
Cole Hutchinson — 1 double
Aiden O’Neill — 1 single, 1 walk
Jack Porter — 1 single, 1 double
Landon Roberts — 1 single, 1 walk
Cole White — 1 single, 1 double
Kai Wong — 1 single
Seth Woollet — 1 single

Chase Anderson whacks a hit.

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Falcons nip Wolves on diamond

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Xavier Murdy and his fellow CHS seniors will be honored Friday. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

One small break can be brutal.

Playing less than 24 hours after winning a battle for league supremacy, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball team took a small step backwards Thursday afternoon.

Dinged by back-to-back fielding errors at a crucial moment, the Wolves fell 3-1 at South Whidbey, allowing the Falcons to earn a season split in the series between next-door neighbors.

The non-conference loss drops Coupeville to 11-6 heading into Senior Night Friday against visiting Orcas Island.

The first time the Wolves and Falcons clashed this season, CHS pulled out a 3-2 win at home. Second time around, just as close, but not with as positive an ending.

“Probably some big game hangover,” said Coupeville coach Will Thayer.

The Wolves were likely still buzzing after handing Friday Harbor its first Northwest 2B/1B League loss of the season a day before, and they quickly jumped on South Whidbey when Hawthorne Wolfe rapped a leadoff double.

Unfortunately, the speedy senior never made it all the way home, starting a day-long trend in which Coupeville put runners on base in every inning, yet couldn’t break out a big rally.

The lone run for the Wolves came in the top of the third, when Jonathan Valenzuela smacked a two-out triple, then skittered home on a double off of Scott Hilborn’s bat.

Coupeville collected seven hits — three from Sage Sharp — and two walks, but stranded eight of those nine runners, making life dicey.

Valenzuela, who whiffed five while going the distance on the mound, pitched well, but South Whidbey scratched out just enough offense to carry the day.

Jonathan Valenzuela brings the heat.

The Falcons plated one run in the first, with a walk to Grady Davis bringing Nick Black in to score.

It was the bottom of the third which proved to be Coupeville’s Kryptonite, however, as Ashton Leland and Andrew Hilton both tapped home for South Whidbey thanks to Wolf errors.

From there, Coupeville was in lock-down mode, with catcher Xavier Murdy throwing out two would-be base stealers.

The Wolves cap a three-games-in-three-days run with Friday’s tilt with Orcas, and they’ll honor seniors Murdy, Wolfe, Cody Roberts, Cole Hutchinson, and Sharp.

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