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Katrina McGranahan, legend. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This is a shout-out to one of the true giants.

During her time at Coupeville High School, Katrina McGranahan was a stellar athlete — a volleyball, softball, and (for a brief moment at least) basketball supernova.

Blessed with natural talent, and always willing to put in work, Killer Kat was tabbed as the CHS Female Athlete of the Year.

Following in the footsteps of big bro Wade Schaef, while carving out her own brilliant path, Miss McGranahan remains a one-of-a-kind wonder who also happens to be a pretty extraordinary human being.

These days, she’s a mom to a bright-eyed lil’ boy, and has returned to her alma mater to coach the Wolf JV softball program.

Coupeville’s young guns are 5-1 while playing for Katrina, and it’s a kick to see her passing on wisdom to a new generation.

She has also stepped up in her first season and proven to be the true heir to David and Amy King by being the best quote in the biz.

I’ve watched as a first year CHS softball coach once literally sprinted away across a field to keep from answering one question from Whidbey News-Times guru Jim Waller and myself after a game.

Katrina is the exact opposite, kicking me scorebook photos and introspective insight on her team in a super-timely fashion, just like her dad Kevin, the CHS varsity diamond coach, does.

You love to see it.

It’s always great when former Wolf athletes return to coach teams in Cow Town, either at the middle or high school level.

When they prove to be ideally suited for the job, like Miss McGranahan, it’s even better.

So, thank you once again, Katrina, for all the highlights from your playing career, and now for being part of a very-strong coaching crew guiding Wolf Nation forward.

Once a superstar, always a superstar!

“You’re playing in front of the fence. I said this one is going OVER the fence…”

“I have…”

“the…”

“POWER!!!!!”

“Dang straight she does, skippy!”

“They found it down by the Clinton ferry…”

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Freshman Mia Farris smacked four hits Wednesday as Coupeville beat Friday Harbor to clinch a league title. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They’re still the gold standard.

It was a little closer than expected, but the Coupeville High School varsity softball squad kept its record perfect in Northwest 2B/1B League games, knocking off visiting Friday Harbor 6-3 Wednesday afternoon.

The victory, coming against a foe it socked 30-0 the first time around, lifts the Wolves to 6-0 in conference action, 13-2 overall.

It also clinches back-to-back league titles for Coupeville and moves Kevin McGranahan’s squad one win away from qualifying for the state tournament.

The Wolves wrap up the regular season with a home doubleheader Friday against Orcas Island on Senior Night, then a road trip May 3 to Darrington.

After that, there’s gonna be a wait.

Current plans call for Coupeville to travel to Fort Borst Park in Centralia May 21, where it will play the #5 team from District 4 in a winner-to-state, loser-out game.

The delay is because District 4, which has 20 schools playing 2B softball, will host a complete district tourney.

District 1, which Coupeville rules, will not, as the Wolves are one of just three 2B schools on the diamond.

Having thunked Friday Harbor and La Conner in regular season play, Coupeville is da champs.

The 2B state tourney, set for May 27-28 in Yakima, will be a 12-team rumble.

That’s right, it won’t be a 16-team bout as usual, because 2B softball, with 49 teams, misses the 50-team cutoff for a 16-team bracket by a single school.

That also means District 1 won’t automatically send a team to state — which it would if there were 50 schools — “requiring” the crossover with District 4.

There will be a test on all of this later…

Wolves (l to r) Teagan Calkins, Sofia Peters, Taylor Brotemarkle, and Madison McMillan are one win away from the state tourney.

Coupeville, then a 1A program, went to the big dance in 2019, the last time Washington held any state championships for spring sports.

The pandemic erased softball, baseball, track, soccer, and tennis in spring 2020, then restricted 2021 action to just league contests.

Now, Wolf seniors Izzy Wells and Audrianna Shaw, who are the only remaining active players from the 2019 squad, will try and guide their team back to state.

The duo was front and center Wednesday, as usual, with the Izzinator whipping strikes to her lil’ sis, Savina, who, clad in catcher’s gear, accepted nine strikeouts.

Shaw banged out a pair of hits and patrolled center field, meanwhile, in a game which stayed close a lot longer than McGranahan might have liked.

“We came out flat, but did enough to get the win,” he said.

“Another Coupeville fastpitch league championship. However, the work is not done, only just beginning.”

The Wolves struck first Wednesday, pushing a run across in the bottom of the first to take the early lead.

Shaw led off with a walk, with Mia Farris and Izzy Wells following with base-knocks, and the scoreboard lit up.

But then it dimmed a bit, as Friday Harbor fought back to take the lead with a three-run top of the third.

Trailing a league opponent for the first time this season, Coupeville rebounded with two runs in the bottom half of the third to knot things up, and two more in the fourth to take the lead for good.

Both of those mini surges featured Shaw, Farris, and fellow freshman Taylor Brotemarkle reach base twice apiece, while 9th grader Madison McMillan bopped a double to put the game on ice in the sixth.

 

Wednesday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — 2 walks
Mia Farris — 4 singles
Gwen Gustafson— 2 singles
Allie Lucero — 2 singles
Madison McMillan — 1 double
Audrianna Shaw — 2 singles, 1 walk
Izzy Wells — 1 single, 2 walks

Gwen Gustafson slaps another hit.

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Rain today, play tomorrow. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The battle for league supremacy has been bumped by a day.

Tuesday’s scheduled matchups between Coupeville and Friday Harbor on the softball and baseball diamonds have been moved to Wednesday because of forecasted rain.

Both games are scheduled to have 4 PM starts in Coupeville.

The baseball match-up pits Friday Harbor, which is 8-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play against a Wolves squad which sits at 8-1.

The Wolverines, who are the defending league champs, won the first meeting of the season 3-2 on Friday Harbor.

A win is crucial, as only one of three 2B schools from the NWL advances to the postseason, and La Conner is already eliminated.

On the softball side of things, Coupeville (5-0 in league) can clinch back-to-back league titles with a win over Friday Harbor (5-1).

While their league records look fairly similar, it’s deceptive, as the Wolf sluggers won 30-0 (not a misprint) the first time the teams played this season.

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Taylor Brotemarkle is in a good mood. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Many games, many photos.

The Coupeville High School softball program was busy last week, with three varsity games and a JV clash.

The Wolves won three of four, and ever-wandering photo clicker John Fisken was on hand to snap pics at multiple games.

The photos above and below are courtesy him, but you can see tons more if you pop over to:

 

Oak Harbor varsity game:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Softball-/SB-2022-04-22-Coupeville-at-OH/

 

Lakewood varsity and JV games:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Softball-/SB-2022-04-23-vs-Lakewood/

 

Allie Lucero flicks fire.

Katrina McGranahan shows the youngsters how it’s done.

Edie Bittner tracks a fly ball.

Madison McMillan gets plunked.

Izzy Wells (left) and Mckenna Somes plot the destruction of their foes.

Gordon McMillan, man of 1,001 tasks.

Sofia Peters marinates in the moment after smashing a double. “I hit, son, it’s what I do!”

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Melanie Navarro’s bat was so hot Saturday, it may still be on fire. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Lakewood slapped. Coupeville punched.

The visiting Cougars struck first in Saturday’s JV softball game, but the host Wolves had all the answers.

Trailing 6-0 an inning-and-a-half into play, Coupeville responded with an explosion of runs, sprinting away with an 18-7 win in a game mercy-ruled after five innings.

Katrina McGranahan’s squad improves to a spiffy 5-1 on the season, with a home game against Burlington-Edison coming up Monday, Apr. 25.

Coming on the heels of a varsity clash in which 36 runs were scored, the JV teams did their best to match the total.

Lakewood scratched out a run in the first, then banked in five more in the top of the second — with all of those runs coming after the Cougars had two outs with nobody on base.

If they were worried, the Wolves never showed it, however.

Instead, Coupeville first baseman Melanie Navarro picked up a bat, bent it nearly in half, then crushed — with a capital C — the ball to the deepest, darkest part of left field.

By the time the ball was done skipping around way out there, Navarro was perched on third with the first of four extra-base hits she would throw down in the game.

That lit a fire under the Wolves, with Katie Marti zipping an RBI single to center and Allie Lucero lofting a sac fly to start the tsunami of runs.

Coupeville sent five runners zipping across home plate in the third, again with Navarro making sweet music with her bat.

She crunched a two-run double to center, before beating a throw home, knocking the ball loose in the melee, two batters later.

Teagan Calkins, destroyer of pitchers.

Up 7-6, the Wolves gave Lakewood one final chance to be competitive, before busting the game wide open with six runs in the fourth and a final five in the fifth.

In between Navarro and Lucero ringing up substantial RBI totals — both sluggers finished with five apiece — 10 of 12 Wolves reached base, with Chloe Marzocca topping the list by getting aboard three times.

Plus, there was plenty of intrigue and cheer-worthy plays to go around.

Camryn Clark made a fairly sensational snag on a towering fly ball to right, earning huge applause from her teammates, while Lucero proved her middle name is danger.

Making sure to keep the Lakewood hitters sufficiently jittery, the lefty slinger twice wound up and accidentally plunked Cougar hitters in the batting helmet with wayward pitches.

After that, the visitors embraced leaning away from the plate, allowing Allie, with a slight smile on her face, to whiff eight Cougars as twin sister Maya nodded in approval from her perch in the stands.

Mess with the Lucero sisters at your own peril, world.

 

Saturday stats:

Teagan Calkins — 1 double, 2 walks
Camryn Clark — 1 single, 1 walk
Alondra Cruz — 1 walk
Jada Heaton — 1 double, 2 walks
Violette Huegerich – 1 walk
Allie Lucero — 2 doubles, 1 walk
Katie Marti — 2 singles, 1 double
Chloe Marzocca — 2 singles, 1 walk
Melanie Navarro — 2 doubles, 2 triples
Maya Nottingham — 1 single, 1 walk

Allie Lucero whiffed eight hitters and drove in five runs in Saturday’s JV win.

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