Coupeville senior Daniel Olson closed out his high school baseball career Saturday by getting the final out in a 30-0 win. (Morgan White photos)
First, a small round of applause for Ivory Souryavong.
You probably don’t know him. I had never heard of him before Saturday.
But, as a major rebuilding season ended for a painfully-young La Conner High School baseball squad, Souryavong provided the lone highlight for Brave fans.
La Conner fell at home, and fell hard, losing 30-0 to a confident, really-starting-to-jell Coupeville squad.
The Braves sent 16 hitters to the plate in the loss, with 13 striking out against Wolf hurlers Hawthorne Wolfe, Xavier Murdy, and Daniel Olson.
Two others grounded out.
But Souryavong, a freshman third-baseman, rapped a two-out single in the bottom of the third, providing La Conner’s lone base runner.
It’s a small thing, but it should be noted — a kid refusing to go down easy even when things are not so great.
So, some kudos to Souryavong, before we move on to extolling the virtues of his foes.
And those Coupeville diamond men were in fine form, closing this pandemic-shortened season at 7-3, second-best in the Northwest 2B/1B League.
Cole White is one of six Wolf freshmen on a 16-man roster.
First-year coach Will Thayer, with a pretty young roster of his own, got the best out of his diverse team, and loses just one senior to graduation.
That’s Olson, who once upon a time was my “assistant manager” at David’s DVD Den when he was a preschooler.
He was paid in candy, and I’m still not sure all the customer’s money made it into the till…
Now all grown up (at least mostly), he scored four times Saturday, and came to the mound to get the final out of the game, the season, and his prep career.
Olson ended things with another strikeout, punching out La Conner’s lone senior, Alden Schnabel, then strolled into the twilight.
For a moment at least, as the lanky Wolf is likely to return for basketball season.
After netting just a lone run in the top of the first, Coupeville dropped a 10-spot in the second, then tacked on 15 more in the third, before coasting home with four in the fourth.
With so many runs flying across the plate, the scorebook doesn’t show how a lot of Wolf hitters got on base, and I was in Freeland, helping my sister with chicken coops, and not camped out in La Conner.
So, if you were hoping for a complete breakdown of the hit parade, this is not the story you seek.
But suffice it to say that Thayer was able to get all 16 of his players into the game, with his young guns getting plenty of playing time.
“Super proud of this team,” said the CHS coach. “And excited to start building towards next season.”
After a strong junior campaign, Cody Roberts is primed to be Coupeville’s #1 pitcher when next season rolls around.
Wolfe and Murdy were pitching for the first time in a game this season, while Jonathan Valenzuela paced the offense, scoring five times.
Olson and Scott Hilborn both tapped the plate four times apiece, as well, with Cody Roberts coming around three times.
Also seeing playing time in the finale were Gabe Reed, Miles Davidson, Cole White, Sage Sharp, Zane Oldenstadt, Andrew Williams, Nick Guay, Coen Killian, Peyton Caveness, and Seth Woollet.
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