Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Softball’ Category

Web gems galore, but win evades softball sluggers

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on March 15, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS sophomore Chelsea Prescott smacked three hits, including a triple, and made a sensational defensive play Friday in a close loss to Lynden Christian. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They filled up the highlight reel.

Three different Coupeville High School softball players pulled off sensational defensive plays Friday, but it wasn’t quite enough to topple perennial power Lynden Christian.

Despite web gems from Mollie Bailey, Mackenzie Davis, and Chelsea Prescott, the Wolves fell just short, dropping a 9-6 non-league decision on the road.

The loss evens Coupeville’s early-season record at 1-1, heading into a doubleheader Saturday at Oak Harbor High School.

The 1A Wolves face 2A Lakewood at 11 AM, then return to the field at 3 PM for a Island rivalry showdown with their 3A hosts.

Friday, CHS jumped on Lynden early, scraping together a run in the top of the first thanks to the fleet feet of Emma Mathusek and the hot bats of Prescott and Sarah Wright.

Mathusek got things started by ripping a shot to third base, then using her go-go wheels to make the Lync fielder come up with the ball too quickly.

The ball was juggled, the throw was low, and the Wolf junior shot across the bag a step ahead of the incoming orb, earning a big cheer from first-base coach Ron Wright.

Coupeville’s sluggers took over from that point, with Prescott rifling a single into center, before Wright whacked an RBI single to virtually the same spot on the field.

Lynden Christian’s hurler escaped, tossing back-to-back strikeouts after that, but some damage was done.

Wolf freshman hurler Izzy Wells started strongly in the bottom of the first, whiffing a pair of Lyncs, and getting the first of the day’s three web gems from her defense.

This time it was Bailey at third, who almost had her head taken off by a line-drive from Lynden’s lead-off hitter.

The ball came screaming down the line, but the ever-easy-going Bailey snapped her mitt in front of her face at the very last millisecond, snagging the frozen rope, then nonchalantly flipping the ball back to her pitcher.

While she didn’t seem overly-impressed with herself, the play made her coach jump to attention.

“Mollie caught a life-saving hard line, and then we had to restart her heart,” CHS coach Kevin McGranahan said with a small chuckle.

Despite the great snag, Lynden got on the board in the bottom of the first, thanks to a high looping ball that dropped into the gap behind short, plating the tying runner.

The game remained knotted at 1-1 until the bottom of the third, and part of that was due to the second Wolf web gem.

Lynden’s lead-off hitter in the second smoked a shot into right which had extra bases written all over it, but Davis was having none of those shenanigans.

Charging the ball, she snagged the rapidly-sinking liner an inch off the ground, her mitt mowing the grass as she kept moving forward.

To the amazement of everyone in attendance, the ball stayed in her mitt, Davis stayed on her feet, even while churning across the turf, and the Lync batter could do little more than throw her hands in the air in frustration and amazement as the field ump emphatically punched the air to signal an out.

The tie was finally broken thanks to the one bad inning Coupeville endured.

Lynden put together four hits, and took advantage of a few bobbled balls, to pile up five runs in the bottom of the third, threatening to blow the game open.

Prescott finally snuffed out the rally with a pair of strong defensive plays.

The first was the eye-opener, as the Wolf shortstop pulled in a throw from Mathusek after a long RBI double to center, then alertly whirled and lunged backwards, slapping the tag on the incoming Lync as she came around the base a step too far.

That heads-up play blunted the Lynden rally, and then Prescott gunned down the next hitter, going into the hole, then coming up with a laser to CHS first-baseman Veronica Crownover to end the inning.

Down 6-1 at that point, the Wolves gave up another run in the fourth inning, before launching a comeback rally in the top of the fifth.

Coupeville’s first six batters reached base, with four scoring, thanks to some timely hits and a rare Lynden brain freeze.

Mathusek and Prescott kicked things off with singles, before Wright smashed an RBI base-knock back up the middle.

The Lyncs got helpful on the next batter, when their shortstop straight up muffed a play on a blooper off of Bailey’s bat.

It looked like the fielder was going to pull in the ball while it was still airborne, freezing the Wolf runners to their bags.

When the Lync failed to hold on to the ball, that left everyone scrambling at the last second.

In the heat of the moment, Lynden, instead of getting the easy force at second base, which was three inches from where the ball landed, tried to gun down Prescott heading for third.

It didn’t work, as the Wolf sophomore stretched out her quads in a hurry, then lunged under the tag.

With Lynden suddenly flustered, Coupeville took advantage, striking with a quick one-two combo.

Crownover belted a ball off of the right fielder’s glove to plate a run, then Davis lashed a two-run single to get her dugout really jumping.

Back to within 7-5, with two runners on and no outs, the Wolves sent Lync fans into a panic.

Unfortunately, the audible prayers of the Lynden faithful were answered, as their squad escaped thanks to a bang-bang double-play and a strikeout.

The two teams exchanged runs from there, with the home sluggers notching a single run in both the fifth and sixth, while Coupeville got one more back in its half of the sixth.

That final Wolf run came courtesy of a two-out rally, with Prescott launching a moon shot to right field, then sliding under the tag for a triple.

A pitch later, Wright smashed another RBI single, skipping to second when the ball was bobbled.

Coupeville’s last best hope ended a few feet short of nirvana, however, as Bailey’s ensuing blast to left was tracked down and caught.

Despite a one-two-three top of the seventh, McGranahan came away pleased with much of what he saw from his team in a road game against a school which regularly advances to the state tourney.

“Well, little errors got us today,” he said. “It was still a good game; there were a lot of positives to take away.

“If we clean it up we will be fine,” McGranahan added. “Young team making young team errors. It is only game two of a long season. No need to panic.”

Wright paced Coupeville, collecting four singles and three RBI in four trips to the plate, while Prescott racked up a triple, two singles, and a walk.

Mathusek, Crownover, and Davis also had base-knocks, while Coral Caveness eked out a base on balls.

Read Full Post »

Battlin’ Briscoe joins the elite

Posted in Basketball, Hall o' Fame, Softball, Volleyball, tagged , , , , , on March 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

All the rebounds belonged to Tiffany “The Bruiser” Briscoe. All of them. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Give everything you have and you can walk away head held high.

Every coach wants a Tiffany Briscoe.

The former Coupeville High School three-sport athlete, one of the rare Wolves to play a sport in all 12 seasons of their prep career, was a rock.

Day in, day out, every practice, every game, Briscoe was there, playing her heart out, doing all the little things, always looking to improve, always supportive of her teammates, always an unsung star.

She played alongside some of the most dynamic athletes CHS has seen, and it might be easy to overlook her contributions.

But it would also be a huge injustice.

Which is why today we swing open the doors to the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame and welcome home one of the ultimate blue-collar warriors.

After this, you’ll find Briscoe at the top of the blog, enshrined under the Legends tab.

It’s a fitting place to find her, because she is the kind of athlete, and kind of person, you hope other Wolves emulate.

Tiffany would be the first to tell you she didn’t have world-class, awe-inspiring natural athletic ability.

And then she would shrug her shoulders, smile, take you down in the paint, bust your fanny all game long, collect all the bruises, hug all her teammates, and walk away, proud she had helped her team.

Briscoe was a key contributor in all her sports, from volleyball to basketball to softball, helping take teams in the latter two sports to state.

There’s stats to support her making the Hall of Fame – she’s #91 all-time in scoring in CHS girls basketball history.

There’s big moments to make a case for her, like when Briscoe crushed an over-the-fence home run off of a nasty fastball from a rival pitcher who had already signed a D1 college scholarship.

That round-tripper was huge on a day when Coupeville KO’d Klahowya, its biggest diamond rival.

After three straight losses to the Eagles, Briscoe’s blow fueled a 7-6 home win which launched a sweet, and somewhat unexpected, six-game winning streak against Klahowya.

But the thing which guarantees she was going to land in the Hall is her heart.

Through big wins and tough losses, through good times and emotional heart-breakers, Briscoe NEVER stopped battling.

Never stopped working.

Never stopped living and dying for her sisters, whether they be of the flesh and blood type (lil’ sis Kyla) or of the “sisters from another mother” variety.

I’ve known Tiffany since she was a very little girl, and, as her high school athletic career played out, I was always impressed by how the important things – her drive, her desire, her compassion, her commitment – never wavered.

She grew as a young woman, finding confidence in sports and life, and she has begun the journey to making a name for herself in the big, wide world after graduating from CHS in 2017.

But, no matter where she goes, and what she accomplishes, I will always see her the way she was when she wore a Wolf uniform.

Leaning in close, eyes locked on her coach, taking in every word, totally absorbed in the game and what her mentors had to say, whether they were words of praise or the sounds of a coach in despair.

Working in the off-season with her teammates, and by herself, committed to getting every last bit of improvement out of her skills.

And then, face beaming, enjoying her time off the court with her friends and family, always willing to mug for the camera, but also aware of when it was time to do that, and when it was time to focus.

There have been a handful of athletes who have come through the gym doors at CHS, or spent time on one or more of the far-flung fields, who have operated like Briscoe did.

They are the ones we remember after the games have faded away, after scores have been forgotten, after they depart and are replaced by new stars.

During her days and nights as a Wolf athlete, there were a lot of young kids camped in the bleachers, or hanging out by the fence.

As they did so, I hope they watched Tiffany, and I hope they appreciated what she was doing.

When they pull on that high school uniform for the first time, if they remember the way she conducted herself, if they try and play like she did, they will go far.

Briscoe’s success was told in the bruises she collected.

Diving for volleyballs, even when she knew she couldn’t save all of them.

Fighting for rebounds, taking and dealing out elbows and daring anyone to try and budge her from her assigned chunk of hardwood.

Regularly absorbing wayward pitches like she had magnets in her arms and legs that attracted only softballs, then bouncing down to take her free base while gritting her teeth and smiling at her coach through the pain.

I said it once, I said it twice, I’ll keep saying it time and time again.

Tiffany Briscoe was a warrior.

When she walked away, at the end of her final softball season, she cried, because she knew it was over. But she smiled too, because she had no regrets.

I hope when she looks back, she remembers her time as a Wolf athlete with pride, and with joy.

Heart, above all else, and none with a bigger heart than Tiffany.

It’s why she’s a Hall of Famer.

Read Full Post »

And then our brains exploded

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on March 12, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville freshman Izzy Wells was a beast in her high school softball debut Tuesday, sparking an incredible come-back win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

No one saw this coming. No one.

And if you say you did, you’re a cock-a-doodie liar.

I mean, let’s be honest here, there was a time Tuesday afternoon when I already had this Coupeville High School softball story mostly written in my head, and it was going to be a lot different than what you’re about to read.

It was going to be about a rebuilding team coming out on Opening Day, facing a rival with a big win already to its credit, and having the kind of struggles you often have in that kind of situation.

We would have reached down, plucked out the tale of Ms. Unflappable, freshman hurler Izzy Wells, and focused on that primarily, as a way to ease the rawness of a lopsided loss.

Maybe we would have talked about some truly, jaw-droppingly awful calls by the umpiring crew, but, ultimately, we would have looked for some kind of silver lining.

And then the world turned upside down.

Three outs away from being ten-runned, three outs away from absorbing a dispiriting loss, the Wolves, to a player, stood up and pulled off a stunning reversal of fortune like maybe none I’ve ever seen in 29 years of on-and-off sports writing.

You can look at the box score, see Coupeville beat Friday Harbor 18-17 — yes, that was really the score — and have no freakin’ clue of how wild, weird, wacky and, ultimately, wonderful, this one was.

So, let me try and give you some kind of clue, even as my own brain keeps doing dizzy laps around the inside of my noggin, screaming like a 10-year-old jacked out of his mind on Mountain Dew and Pop Rocks.

I mean, we’re talking about a game in which Coupeville trailed 9-0, 12-2, and, finally, 16-6 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

A game in which the Wolves didn’t get a hit until the fourth inning.

A game in which CHS led once, and only once, on the final swing of the game, as senior catcher Sarah Wright delivered the latest in a four-year run of crafting epic prairie moments.

A game in which the biggest performance, without question, came from a freshman making her high school softball debut, but also a game in which all 12 Wolf hitters got on base, often at crucial times.

Racing the setting sun, Coupeville’s diamond women did the impossible, brought a standing-room-only crowd to delirium, and sent a shell-shocked Friday Harbor squad off on a very long, and probably very tear-stained, bus and ferry trip home.

The visiting Wolverines had opened their season by clubbing always-scary Lynden Christian, and they came out bats smoking against CHS hurlers Scout Smith and Chelsea Prescott.

Coupeville is in transition, with Katrina McGranahan, its pitching ace the past four years, now sitting in the front row of the bleachers, offering quiet, sage advice to the group following in her large footsteps.

Smith and Prescott didn’t pitch all that badly over the first two innings-plus, with Smith whiffing three and Prescott setting Friday Harbor hitters back on their heels.

But, the Wolverines benefited from some dubious calls, which prompted one fan to inquire if the ump had gotten two glass eyes installed at their last visit to the eye doctor.

One play in particular, on which Wright came up firing and nailed a runner leaning off first, was textbook fraud.

The throw to teammate Veronica Crownover was so on the money, the tag so flawlessly applied, every person this side of Texas could see the runner was out.

Including the runner herself, and the Friday Harbor coach at first-base.

But, in the first of 27 times Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan was gutted in one afternoon, both umps publicly admitted they couldn’t see the play, while calling the runner safe.

Howlers like that set the table, but give the visitors credit for using their lumber to deliver bone-crunching hits, as Friday Harbor surged out to a 12-2 lead midway through the third inning.

A two-run home-run to deep left field was seemingly the bow on the present the Wolverines were crafting for their coaching staff, but then Wells came stomping into the game to play a very-popular Grinch.

A star in little league, who has gone on to have successful high school volleyball and basketball seasons, the middle child belonging to Lyle and Katy Wells looked a hair nervous as she took the ball from Kevin McGranahan.

With a runner at second, nobody out, and a 10-run deficit, few were expecting the moment to be much more than a chance to give the youngster a taste of high school varsity ball.

Wright, once a raw, but talented 14-year-old herself, is now a seasoned old pro, albeit one who still delights in loudly leading every sing-along chant from the bench.

As their coach departed, she leaned in, whispered something to Wells, then grinned, the kind of smile which covers the prairie, whacked her mitt lightly against her young teammate’s arm and headed back to the plate, showering her newest battery mate with a wave of confidence.

Two pitches later, the transformation was complete.

Wells body language noticeably changed, her back went straighter, her pitches started to hum, and, whether they knew it or not, the Wolves were on the comeback trail.

She whiffed the second batter she faced, escaped the inning, struck out the side in the fourth, and chucked five impressive innings of relief.

Bolstered by their fab frosh, the Wolves, after racking up nine walks, finally broke through with their bats.

When it came, it came all at once, with three straight base-knocks — Chelsea Prescott smoking a two-run triple to left, Wright mashing an RBI triple, then Mollie Bailey crunching an RBI single to center.

Back within 12-6, there was hope … and then it was seemingly gone.

A couple of soft hits which found teeny-tiny holes in the defense helped Friday Harbor inch back out to a 16-6 lead, and things looked bleak once more as the bottom of the sixth approached.

Of ye of little faith.

Three straight walks to open the sixth juiced the bags, a passed ball brought one home, then Wright cranked a two-run single and scampered home when a throw to second skipped wildly away from the shortstop.

Crownover eked out a walk, Wells stroked a single to left, and it was time for the other freshman to get dramatic.

Having made her varsity debut a mere half hour before, Audrianna Shaw was a wild card, and Friday Harbor never saw her coming.

Leaning into a pitch, she went Incredible Hulk on the ball, mashing a frozen rope to center, where it smacked the top of the madly running fielder’s glove and skipped away.

With the lead cut to 16-12, Coupeville went for the KO, only to see their foes dodge the punch when Prescott’s long shot to left with the bags full was run down.

It mattered not, however, as the improbable had become the possible.

Even though Friday Harbor scraped out a run in the seventh to go up 17-12, the air felt different.

Some would say it was just the already-cold weather being affected by the sun sinking over the horizon. Others are more poetic.

Coupeville sent 10 hitters to the plate in the bottom of the seventh, and the final nine reached base.

The big blow was a rocket launched into left by Crownover, a booming double which tore the cover off the screaming, pleading ball and plated a runner.

Equally important were four consecutive bases-loaded walks, with Shaw, Smith, Emma Mathusek, and Prescott bringing teammates home while displaying eagle eyes at the plate.

That set up Wright, the four-year starter, the four-year hitting sensation, she of the voice run raspy after three-plus hours of screamin’ and hootin’ and hollerin’ and singin’ and laughin’ her head off.

The slump of the pitcher’s shoulders told the tale, almost as much as the way Wright rolled to the plate, lofting her bat onto her shoulder and licking her lips in anticipation.

Friday Harbor’s hurler whipped a good pitch — the best she had thrown all inning — but, with one final laugh, Wright crushed her hopes and dreams, whipping a walk-off hit back up the middle.

Scout Smith came flying home, giving dad Chris, whose CHS baseball team had to postpone its game due to illness, a chance to pump his fists in the air and go home happy.

All across the prairie, bedlam rained.

Bad calls were forgotten, early struggles placed to the side, and, while it’s just one win, in the first game of a 20-game regular-season schedule, its impact could be monumental.

“Just a great game, by a group of girls who never gave in!,” Kevin McGranahan said. “Give Izzy a lot of credit, for coming in and holding them down. Really good first game for her, and Audri, too.”

Coupeville finished with eight hits and 20 walks, with Smith and Mathusek eking out five free passes apiece.

Senior sluggers Wright (1B, 3B) and Crownover (2B, 2B) led the hit attack, with Prescott (3B), Shaw (3B), Wells (1B), and Bailey (1B) also connecting on base-knocks.

Coral Caveness collected two walks, while Chloe Wheeler, Nicole Laxton, and Mackenzie Davis all walked as well, as every Wolf in uniform reached base.

Read Full Post »

CHS softball finally gets its wish

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on March 7, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Thanks to a schedule shuffle, Izzy Wells and her Coupeville High School softball teammates will travel Mar. 16 to Oak Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

This is not a drill. This is really happening.

Thanks to a last-second schedule shuffle, true Whidbey Island high school softball supremacy will up for grabs for the first time in more than a decade.

That’s because Oak Harbor, Coupeville, and South Whidbey will play each other, a rarity when it concerns the first two teams.

Coupeville and South Whidbey are reunited in the 1A North Sound Conference this year, and are scheduled to clash three times, twice in April and once in May.

The Wolves have dominated the series in recent years, winning four non-conference games over the past three years, including 12-0 and 10-0 routs last season.

But the biggest school on the Island, 3A Oak Harbor, hasn’t accepted a challenge from Coupeville in a very long time.

You can go all the way back to 2009 using the North Sound Conference web site, and there is not a single meeting between North and Central Whidbey on a high school field.

That changes Saturday, Mar. 16.

Coupeville was originally set to host 2A Lakewood that day, but now will travel to Oak Harbor and play a road triple-header.

The Wolf varsity opens at 11 AM against Lakewood on the OHHS softball field.

Coupeville’s JV squad also plays Lakewood, but at 1 PM at Hillcrest Elementary just down the street, while Oak Harbor and Lakewood’s varsity play on the high school field.

Then, at 3 PM, on the high school field, Coupeville gets what it’s been dreaming about for some time, a chance to square off with the Wildcats.

South Whidbey and Oak Harbor were already scheduled to meet in the season opener Mar. 12, meaning all three Whidbey teams will get a chance to recreate the magic from back when their players were in little league.

Last season, Coupeville went 12-9, South Whidbey 12-13, and Oak Harbor 2-18, but all enter a new year with a fresh slate and new challenges.

One Island, three teams, one “champion” to rule them all.

Read Full Post »

“Sky is the limit for this team”

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on March 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »

CHS softball coaches Kevin McGranahan (left) and Ron Wright run players through practice drills. (Photos by JohnPhotos.net)

Mollie Bailey is one of nine returning players from a team which came a win shy of advancing to state.

Third time’s the charm.

At least that’s the hope for the Coupeville High School softball squad, which has fallen a single win shy of the state tourney two years running.

And, while the Wolves will miss a trio of graduated All-Conference players in Hope Lodell, Lauren Rose, and Katrina McGranahan, the roster is loaded with experience.

Seniors Sarah Wright, Veronica Crownover, and Nicole Laxton top a lineup with brings back nine letter winners.

Joining them are juniors Scout Smith, Emma Mathusek, and Mackenzie Davis, as well as sophomores Coral Caveness, Mollie Bailey and Chelsea Prescott.

Having that kind of experience, and having it so precisely balanced between the classes, is huge.

“Returning nine of 12 varsity players will be key to our run this season,” said Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan.

“My goals for this season are that the team comes together as a fast-pitch family and trusts in the process,” he added. “If we can do that, we should have no problem competing for a league title and going to districts.

“Sky is the limit for this little team that could.”

Rounding out the varsity roster will be junior Chloe Wheeler, coming off a strong JV season, and freshman Izzy Wells.

The Wolves need to replace Lodell in center field, Rose at shortstop, and, maybe most importantly, Katrina McGranahan in the pitcher’s circle.

Smith was Coupeville’s #2 pitcher last season, while Prescott and Wright also saw time flingin’ heat. Wells arrives at the high school level after being a top hurler in little league.

As the pitching situation firms up, the Wolves will be a force to reckon with when they’re up to bat.

Wright and Crownover, who anchor the team at catcher and first base, respectively, can mash with any diamond duo, Prescott combines power and speed, and the rest of their teammates have shown discipline and skill at the plate.

“Strengths will be our speed and ability to push the opposing defense,” Kevin McGranahan said. “Also our mental toughness will get us through the inevitable bad days.

“Things to work on will be just gelling as a team and our communication on the field.”

Coupeville is coming off a league title in a depleted Olympic League, after narrowly missing the crown a year before against a conference at full force.

The past two seasons the Wolves played in a winner-to-state game, but came up a single strike shy of upsetting Bellevue Christian in 2017, then were stung by Klahowya’s bottom-of-the-order hitters in 2018.

Now, CHS is part of the new North Sound Conference, which pits them against Cedar Park Christian, Sultan, Granite Falls, and South Whidbey.

King’s doesn’t field a softball team, so the Wolves will play 12 league games, clashing three times with each conference foe.

South Whidbey has advanced to state in back-to-back seasons, and might appear to be the league favorites, except…

The Falcons lost all-universe pitcher Mackenzee Collins to graduation, and, even with her flingin’ heat, Coupeville crushed the Falcons 12-0 and 10-0 in non-conference games last season.

With a 6-5 win in 2017 and a 4-1 victory in 2016, CHS has won four straight against SWHS under Kevin McGranahan.

Seniors Crownover, Wright, and Laxton have never lost to their Island rivals, and you have to go back to the regular-season finale in 2015, during Deanna Rafferty’s one season of coaching, to find the last time the Falcons beat the Wolf sluggers.

For Kevin McGranahan, though, it doesn’t matter which team is in the other dugout.

He’s been trying (unsuccessfully) to get Whidbey’s third team, 3A Oak Harbor, on the schedule, and looks forward to match-ups with 1A bruisers like Forks and Lynden Christian.

“Teams that stand in our way … well this is a tough question, as you know we will play anyone, anytime, anywhere … unlike our friends to the North, who keep ducking us year after year.

“I think this year we will not take any of our league opponents lightly; never should take anyone lightly,” McGranahan added. “This year in the new league we need to feel it out and put a choke hold on it early.”

Having four league rivals, and 12 conference games, after making do with just arch-rival Klahowya last season after Chimacum and Port Townsend suspended their programs, is just a bonus.

“I like the idea of being in the new league,” McGranahan said. “It gives us a real chance to earn a league title, not that we didn’t last year, but this year we have a better league schedule and not just three games for the title.

“Also the district tournament is A LOT closer!”

Coupeville kicks things off with a home game against non-league foe Friday Harbor Mar. 12, and currently has a 19-game regular season schedule.

After ending March with a four-game road trip, the Wolves get to close with seven of their last 11 games on their own field.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »