Coupeville Sports

       Always a star on defense, Chevy Reyes crunched a big-time hit Friday. (John Fisken photo)

Even die-hard Ford truck owners can agree that one Chevy is pretty special.

Coupeville High School junior infielder Chevy Reyes is easy to root for, as she’s a scrapper, a hustler, a vacuum on defense whether she plays third, short or second. And while she may not normally be as big an offensive threat as teammates Hailey Hammer or McKayla Bailey, she has a good eye and always puts the ball in play.

Friday afternoon she did more than put the ball in play, however, lashing a three-run single into right field to seal the deal on a big-time 9-5 win over visiting Sultan.

The victory snapped a short two-game losing skid for the Wolves and brought them to 3-2 overall, 2-2 in Cascade Conference play.

It also signaled the return of the high-powered offense they showed in their first two games — both wins — as they put together a pair of big, four-run innings to whack the Turks.

What was sort of amazing was the two big innings were neatly packaged around a period when the Sultan hurler took down 12 straight Wolves, including striking out the side in the second inning.

But when the offense was working for Coupeville, it was working.

In the bottom of the first, Bailey started things off by crunching a blast to right center which the outfielder dropped, letting the sophomore slugger scamper to second.

After that came a hard shot off the third baseman’s glove from Maria Rockwell for a single and an RBI single on a frozen rope from Hammer.

Then things got wild.

Bessie Walstad beat out a chopper to load the bags, before Rockwell streaked home and beat the tag on Madeline Strasburg’s chopper. With the bases juiced, Breeanna Messner punched an RBI single into right and Walstad ended up following Hammer across the plate when Sultan compounded their problems by overthrowing third.

Then, just as quickly, the Wolf power show shut off, the Turk hurler started humming and Sultan scraped back to 4-4, capping their rally with back-to-back home runs that barely cleared the new fences, which were in closer than intended.

“They’re supposed to be farther back,” Wolf coach David King grumbled good-naturedly (he did win). “They’re getting moved back. That’s for sure.”

Enter Rockwell, who slammed the door shut with back-to-back strikeouts to end the top of the fifth, then ripped a hard single to kick things off in the bottom half of the inning.

With runners at second and third after a Hammer single and a passed ball, Walstad broke the tie with an RBI grounder up the middle that the Turk second baseman dove for and just barely missed.

Not content to hang on to a one-run lead, Coupeville tried to bunt Walstad over, but Strasburg was too quick and actually got a hit on the play, loading the sacks for Reyes.

Cue the spotlight, as she cranked the ball into the wilds of right field.

Coupeville tacked on a final run in the sixth, when Hammer bounced a ball off the fence to score Madeline Roberts, then Rockwell went back to work. Her final pitch exploded into Walstad’s glove for a called third strike, her fourth punch-out over three innings, and the celebration was on.

With starters Haley Sherman and Sydney Aparicio unavailable, King used his bench adroitly, getting at-bats for Monica Vidoni and Emily Coulter (her first) and field time for Julia Felici and Elena Jimenez Guerra (her first defensive stint).

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       Hailey Hammer, making a nice defensive play in an early season game here, scored the lone run Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)

The road is no place for the Wolves.

At least not for the Coupeville High School softball squad, which has been snake-bit when it comes to getting in the school bus and leaving the safety of the Island.

All three of the Wolves’ previous road games have been rained-out this season, one only after they drove nearly 60 miles to Cedarcrest. So, after winning two of three at home, finally getting to play an away game in Granite Falls Wednesday probably seemed like a moral victory.

Unfortunately that was the only win Coupeville would find.

Plagued by “mental mistakes,” the Wolves fell behind early and never recovered, falling 8-1 in the first time the high-powered CHS offense has been shut down this season. A team that scored 28 runs in its first three games didn’t score Wednesday until the top of the seventh.

The loss dropped Coupeville to 2-2 overall, 1-2 in Cascade Conference play.

“Mentally, we didn’t show up until we had already given up six runs and prevented ourselves from keeping rallies going,” Wolf coach David King said. “Mentally we did not play well the first three innings.

“We had three runners picked off on two fly balls and a line drive. Not throwing to the correct base to get the lead runner or throwing to the proper base on a hit to the outfield,” he added. “Once we correct these mental mistakes we will get back to playing well in all aspects of the game.”

Left fielder Haley Sherman was a bright spot, making three superb defensive plays and knocking in the team’s lone run. One of her web gems was on a diving catch while another came on a shot down the line that she snagged while on the move.

“Haley had a very good game,” King said.

McKayla Bailey and Madeline Strasburg each bonked a double, while Strasburg also gunned down a runner who unwisely tried to go from first to third on a single.

The Wolves garnered seven hits — two from Bailey and one apiece from Strasburg, Sherman, Madeline Roberts, Hailey Hammer and Sydney Aparicio — but they were scattered. With a day of practice before Sultan travels to the Island Friday, March 29, Coupeville will get back at it and try to rediscover its mojo.

“We will continue to work on the mental part and keep improving on what we are doing on defense and swinging the bats,” King said.

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Maria Rockwell has a cannon.

McKayla Bailey has a howitzer.

Haley Sherman has an AK-47.

     While Madeline Strasburg goes with the short-sleeve look, officially welcoming you to the gun show.

Try, try again.

After having had its first three road games rained out, while being able to successfully play its first three home games, the Coupeville High School softball squad will attempt once again to take their show on the road Wednesday.

The destination is Granite Falls, where the Wolves (2-1 overall, 1-1 in Cascade Conference play) will face off with the Tigers, who are 2-3, 1-2. With the weather seemingly having improved, it will give CHS a chance to show off its gun show to off-Island fans.

The photos above, featuring the big-time arms of Maria Rockwell, McKayla Bailey and Co. are brought to you by John Fisken. To purchase photos by the camera maestro, head over to http://www.cascadeathletics.com/index.php?act=view_gallery&gallery=3936&league=2&page=1&page_name=photo_store&school=24&sport=0&tab=2.

If you use the coupon code EB39364962 before Tuesday April 9, 2013, you’ll receive a 15% discount off your purchase.

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