Haylee Armstrong (left) and Jolene Coleman share a moment. (Photos courtesy Aaron Lucero and Bettie Sifuentes-Hart)
“Just a great way to end the season!”
Capping summer ball in style, the Island Vipers travel softball squad stormed back Sunday to win two of three games and earn a second-place trophy at the Game Day Last Pitch Tournament in Kent.
The team, which combines players from multiple schools, was playing in the high-pressure 16U/18U division, and bounced back after being swept in three pool games Saturday.
Jump forward to day #2 and the Vipers stunned the undefeated Spark 6-5 in a loser-out game, with Coupeville catcher Ava Lucero tagging a mammoth homer off of a nasty 0-2 pitch from a college-bound hurler.
The Islanders then nipped the Aberdeen RipTide 2-1 in the semifinals, before narrowly falling 5-3 to the NW Crushers, who had beaten them 11-1 the day before.
Ava Lucero loves hittin’ dingers.
Seeing his team storm back and play their best ball on the final day of the campaign left Vipers head coach Aaron Lucero beaming.
“I’m so proud of this team,” he said. “Absolutely no quit in them and they become more mentally tough every time they play.”
While the Vipers lost all three pool play games, two of the three were nailbiters.
“The scores didn’t tell the whole story,” Aaron Lucero said. “But day two was where it mattered and we got after it.
“I had umpires in each game tell me how much they enjoyed these games where every play mattered and the battles the teams had.
“We saw stellar pitching; great plays made and overall ended the season on a tremendous high note.”
After two long days and plenty of big plays, this edition of the Vipers bows out.
The Vipers had a core group all summer but also mixed and matched some players to fill out roster spots when vacations or other commitments caused a gap.
Regardless of who was in the lineup, Aaron Lucero saw tremendous growth from players building for their varied futures.
“We are here to compete. I’ve said for years I win or learn — never lose.
“Sometimes learning is tough, but the education makes you better moving forward.
“This is a tight knit group. While a couple of the players will be moving to more showcase teams, some aging out, some returning, we have accomplished a lot in my opinion and added value to players across Whidbey.”
Adeline Maynes, the queen of the K’s.
Aaron Lucero praised his entire team, while noting a couple of performances which stood out.
From his daughter, Ava, catching all six games, to pitcher Adeline Maynes “being the workhorse she’s developed into and keeping us in every game against very good offenses,” to Cami Van Dyke for “being her scrappy self defensively,” there were highlights everywhere.
Cousins Haylee Armstrong and Capri Anter smacked the crud out of the ball, as well, with Anter peppering her coach with a wicked shot down the line.
“Capri gave me stitch marks from the ball to the ankle,” Aaron Lucero said with a laugh. “She’s replacing Teagan (Calkins) for hitting me all the time at third.”
Tourney stats:
Capri Anter — One single, two walks
Haylee Armstrong — Four singles, one double, three walks
Teagan Calkins — Four singles, three walks
Jolene Coleman — Two singles, two walks
Elle Linaberry — Two singles, one walk
Ava Lucero — Three singles, one double, one home run
Adeline Maynes — One single, one double, one walk
Cami Van Dyke — Six singles, two walks
Sydney Van Dyke — Four singles, one double, one walk
Sophie Zeigler — Four singles, one triple, one walk
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