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Archive for the ‘Baseball’ Category

Central recaptures winning feeling!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , , on June 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

15-1 on the season? It must be the seeds. (Stephanie Pulliam photo)

Right back on track.

Bouncing back from its first loss of the season, the Central Whidbey Little League Minors baseball squad drilled the North Whidbey Giants 10-4 Wednesday, advancing to the championship of the Henry Pope Memorial Tournament.

With three wins in four tourney games, the Coupeville nine sit at 15-1.

To win the title, they’ll need to knock off South Whidbey #2 — the team which handed them that lone defeat — twice.

Game one is Thursday. Win and Friday is for all the marbles.

Wednesday night, Central Whidbey was coming off a heart-breaker, having surrendered a one-run lead in the final inning Tuesday in a 3-2 loss.

The Coupeville players made life a whole lot less stressful on their coaches against North Whidbey, pounding the wall and jumping to an early lead they never gave up.

Using several big hits, including doubles from Landon Roberts and Chase Anderson, and a whole lot of walks, Central Whidbey jumped out to a 5-1 lead coming out of the top of the third.

North Whidbey scraped together three runs in the bottom of the inning to pull within 5-4, but could get no closer.

Three runs in the top of the fourth stretched the lead back out, before Jack Porter pounded the last nail in North Whidbey’s coffin.

Crunching a two-run home run in the fifth, he set the final margin with his blast.

Central pounded out six hits on the day, while taking advantage of nine walks (three by having its hitters plunked).

Porter led the way, with a single and his tater, while Roberts, Anderson, Peyton Caveness and Jordan Bradford all added a base-knock.

Caveness, Roberts and Porter combined to whiff 10 North Whidbey hitters while doing time on the mound, with Alex Smith, Kyrese Simpson, John Rachal, Mike Robinett, Johnny Porter and Levi Pulliam rounding out the Central lineup.

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Little kids, big swings!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , , on June 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   “You heard me the first time. I said I’ll throw the ball when I feel like it, and not before!!” (John Fisken photos)

“Put it there, sister!!”

“Pizza Factory is giving me free pizza for all this free advertising?!?!?!?”

“Let me at ’em, dad!! I got this!”

“One catch to save the world … and I did it!! The crowd goes wild!!!!!!!”

“I am the destroyer of worlds!!”

   “Listen here, Mr. Speedy, I’m Amy Fasolo! I won a state title in the 800!! You come for the queen, you better have your shoelaces double-tied!!”

It’s the perfect combo — little kids, baseball and a photographer with time on his hands.

Thanks to John Fisken, we have the snappy photos you see above, which capture a T-Ball game Wednesday between the Central Whidbey Sluggers and the Ironbirds.

To see more (purchases fund college scholarships for CHS student/athletes) pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/2017-CWLL/20170607-TBall-CW2-vs-Ironbirds/

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An inch from perfection!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , , on June 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Even with a final-inning loss Tuesday, Central Whidbey is flying high at 14-1 on the season. (Stephanie Pulliam photo)

Live by the walk-off, die by the walk-off.

For a moment, it looked like the Central Whidbey Little League Minors baseball squad had pulled off its second burst of final-inning magic in three days.

A lead-off home-run in the top of the sixth Tuesday staked the squad to a one-run lead.

As Peyton Caveness stamped on home, remaining undefeated and cruising into the championship game of the Henry Pope Memorial Tournament looked all but certain.

But it wasn’t to be.

Unlike Sunday, when Central Whidbey was playing as the home team, and a home-run ended the game on the spot, Tuesday the Coupeville kids had to shut down their foes in the bottom of the sixth to notch another win.

And this time, for the first time all season, they couldn’t get the outs.

South Whidbey #2 sent three hitters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, plated the first two, and sprinted off with a 3-2 win.

The loss put the first ding in a 14-1 record for Central Whidbey and drops it into the loser bracket of the double-elimination tourney.

The hardball warriors, who have won two of three at the tourney, return to the South End Wednesday for a loser-out game.

Win and they get a rematch with South Whidbey #2 Thursday. Win that one, and the two squads play a rubber game for the tourney title Friday.

Tuesday’s game was a pitcher’s duel most of the way.

The teams exchanged zeroes on the scoreboard until the fourth, when Central Whidbey finally broke through.

Levi Pulliam smacked a one-out single to get things started, followed by a two-out RBI triple off the bat of Jack Porter.

Unfortunately for Central, Porter was stranded at third, a fate suffered earlier in the game by his brother Johnny, who also crunched a two-out triple, only to watch as the next CW hitter also went down on strikes.

South Whidbey scraped out its own run in the bottom of the fourth, the teams exchanged goose eggs in the fifth, then the game went on its emotional see-saw in the final inning.

Central Whidbey collected seven hits, with Caveness (bunt single, inside the park home run) and Johnny Porter (single, triple) accounting for four.

Jack Porter’s triple and singles from Pulliam and Landon Roberts rounded out the attack.

The three-headed pitching beast of Chase Anderson, Pulliam and Jordan Bradford whiffed 11 South Whidbey hitters across the six-inning game.

Mike Robinett, John Rachal, Alex Smith and Kyrese Simpson also saw action for Central Whidbey.

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One swing for the win!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , , on June 4, 2017| Leave a Comment »

Undefeated and it feels so good. (Stephanie Pulliam photos)

Mike Robinett (left) and Landon Roberts are ready to take on the world.

Their play has been as red-hot as their uniforms.

   Levi Pulliam is thrilled to find out, you hit a game-winning home run, you just may get a cake out of the deal.

You can call Levi Pulliam “The Cardiac Kid.”

Sitting on a full count, he hammered a game-winning, bottom-of-the-sixth, walk-off home-run Sunday, keeping the miracle run going for his team.

Now sitting at a pristine 14-0 after upending host South Whidbey 3-2, the Central Whidbey Little League Minors baseball squad is also a flawless 2-0 in the Henry Pope Memorial Tournament.

The Coupeville nine, who shredded Oak Harbor Saturday, return to the South End of the Island Tuesday for their next tourney tilt.

The double-elimination event runs June 3-12.

Sunday both teams played a tight game, with South Whidbey twice taking a one-run lead, only to see Central come right back in the bottom of each inning.

The two squads exchanged runs in the first and fourth, mixed in a bunch of zeroes the rest of the way, then stepped back to let Pulliam be the hero.

Bashing a shot down the right field line, he took off as his coach, Jon Roberts, lost his mind.

“It runs hard to DEEP right field. I think I blacked out as he rounded first, screaming ‘run!’,” said a still-giddy hardball guru. “The throw into second takes a while and the throw to the plate is too late. Game over!!

“Best game we played all year!”

Central Whidbey was on top of its game in every way.

Pitchers Chase Anderson, Pulliam and Jordan Bradford combined to whiff 11 of the 21 hitters they faced.

At the plate, Central Whidbey got base-knocks from six different hitters.

Pulliam’s dinger was the big hit, but he got help from Peyton Caveness, Anderson, Bradford and brothers Jack and Johnny Porter, who all collected singles.

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“I enjoy being an athlete!!”

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , , on June 4, 2017| 1 Comment »

Caleb Meyer hangs out post-game with big sis Mckenzie. (Sarah Meyer photo)

Caleb Meyer is the next big thing.

Literally, as the Coupeville 7th grader continues to shoot up in height on what seems like a daily basis.

The little curly-haired kid who bopped around Videoville when he was a toddler (store owners Frank and Miriam Meyer are his grandparents) is now a long and lanky star on the rise in two sports worlds.

On the basketball court, he was the #1 scorer for Randy King’s 7th grade CMS squad, torching Forks for a season-high 26 points in one early-season win.

Exchange the basketball for a mitt and bat, and Meyer has spent the spring playing for Central Whidbey’s Babe Ruth baseball squad.

And there may be a third sport in his near future, as he’s considering trying middle school track as an 8th grader.

That would land him in the same universe as big sister Mckenzie, a standout with the CHS track squad who would be a senior next year.

Regardless of what he chooses in the spring, Meyer is certain of one thing — he was born a gym rat and will remain one all his days.

“I will always stick with basketball throughout my life, because it is my favorite sport,” he said. “It takes a lot of awareness and focus and it is also very fast-paced.”

While the seasons and sports may change, Meyer loves being active and finds something positive in whatever activity he is involved in.

“I enjoy being an athlete because it keeps me fit,” he said. “And I also find it is a good way to spend my time.”

While his height is a big strength for basketball, a lot of his points came off of beating foes down-court on the break. Speed kills, and he has speed for days.

“I believe that one thing I am good at is running fast,” Meyer said. “But I would like to be able to run fast for longer.”

While he hasn’t hit high school yet, he does have his eye on the far-flung future, giving him a solid target to work towards.

“My goal for high school is to get drafted into Gonzaga University and to be one of the best players in the league,” Meyer said.

As he pursues his goals, Caleb knows he has a strong (and proudly vocal, thanks to his cheerleader sister) support group in the stands.

He appreciates them all, but gives a special shout-out to his mother, Sarah.

“My mom has had the biggest impact on me,” Meyer said. “Supporting me with all the practices and bringing me to games as well as being at games to support me.”

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