Fab frosh Mia Farris was superb at the plate and in the field Saturday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
“A tough game, but a good game. I don’t call it an L (for a loss), I call it (an L for) learning.”
While Saturday’s royal rumble on the diamond didn’t end in favor of the Coupeville High School varsity softball squad, Wolf coach Kevin McGranahan was philosophical afterwards.
His 2B Wolves, playing their third game in four days — all against schools from bigger classifications — hung tough for five innings with 2A Lakewood, before falling 23-13.
The non-conference home loss snaps an 11-game win streak for Coupeville, but the many positives from Saturday’s game are what matter most for a Wolf squad sitting at 12-2 on the season.
With McGranahan’s crew looking to return to the state tourney, they have looked to “play up,” and are 6-0 against 2B rivals and a very strong 6-2 against schools from bigger classifications.
This week was a whirlwind, with victories over 1A Meridian and 3A Oak Harbor, and there were huge chunks of the game Saturday when it seemed the Wolves would complete the trifecta.
Rallying from five runs down, Coupeville went ahead by as much as 10-6 in the middle stages of the game, and only trailed 13-12 heading to the sixth inning.
Ultimately, though, the visiting Cougars proved to be too tough, spraying the ball to all fields in the late going, while clamping down on defense.
Lakewood threw out two Coupeville runners at home plate — both on wham-bam plays which were a whisker away from going the other way — and closed the game with a sensational double play.
The Wolves, who started four freshmen, threw down and left everything on the field.
But some days it’s just not quite enough.
Saturday’s brawl on the prairie came on a beautiful, sunny, largely wind-free day — or basically the exact opposite of their last home game, when ice-cold rain slashed and wind howled for two hours straight.
Lakewood came off the bus hot, its bats popping during a five-run top of the first, before Wolf shortstop Taylor Brotemarkle made a superb running snag on a fly ball into left to start the turnaround.
Coupeville pitcher Izzy Wells promptly whiffed the next two batters, and the Wolves were ready to go on the offensive.
“We got sticks, too!” McGranahan told his players, and they responded.
While CHS only pushed across a single run in the first, on a double steal with Audrianna Shaw streaking for home, it got busy in the following frames.
Base-knocks from Gwen Gustafson and Maya Lucero set the stage in the second, with Shaw and Mia Farris rapping back-to-back two-run singles to cut the margin to 6-5.
That set up the third inning, which was the highlight of Coupeville’s day.
On defense, the Wolves set Lakewood down 1-2-3 with Madison McMillan, Brotemarkle, and Allie Lucero all making sterling plays to rob the Cougars on line drives.
McMillan went to her knees at second for her snag, while Lucero stretched to twice her height at first to bring down a ball which had extra-base hit written all over it.
Madison McMillan dares you to run. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Spurred on by the defensive stand, Coupeville poured five runs on the board in its half of the third, romping to a 10-6 lead.
Brotemarkle spanked an RBI single which left a fiery trail as it exited the infield, Farris and Gustafson rapped equally torrid run-scoring base-knocks of their own, but it was Shaw who brought the house down.
Smashing the crud out of the ball, the Wolf senior sparkplug laced a two-run triple to straightaway center, sending a ripple of cheers through her substantial cheering section.
Lakewood wouldn’t go away, however.
A three-run double in the fourth pulled the Cougars within 10-9, before a rally in the top of the fifth sent the visitors ahead 13-11.
Coupeville pulled back within one run after an RBI single from Izzy Wells, but then Lakewood snuffed out the hopes and dreams of the home fans.
Five-run rallies in both the sixth and seventh stretched the lead out, while the Cougar gloves were at their best in the waning moments.
The Wolves loaded the bags in their half of their sixth, sparked by a gorgeous pinch-hit double from Sofia Peters, but Lakewood escaped when it tracked down a long two-out fly ball to right.
In the bottom of the seventh, Coupeville picked up an RBI single from McMillan, only to have the game end with an emphatic exclamation point half a second later.
Gustafson smoked a shot between second and third, but Lakewood shortstop Natalie Krueger speared the ball at her ankles while on the move, before doubling McMillan off of first.
It was a remarkable double play, and one which received an appropriate amount of applause from even the Coupeville side of the field.
In a game in which 36 runs scored, there were more than a handful of defensive gems from both teams — Mia Farris also had a great jumping catch in right field for the Wolves — and the mood of the game was often electric.
In the break before the two JV teams played, a Lakewood player distributed cupcakes to the Coupeville players.
Also, as seen in the photo below, Taylor Brotemarkle and her rival #9 also made an unexpected connection.
Taylor Brotemarkle has a new friend. (Kimberly Brotemarkle photo)
All in all, it was a good day for the Wolves — a rugged test against a strong team, which will help prep Coupeville for the postseason.
A win would have been the cherry on top, but sometimes you take your cupcake and your lessons learned and you move on.
Right back to aiming for personal and team growth, every step of the way.
Cause that’s the real win.
Saturday stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 1 single
Mia Farris — 3 singles
Gwen Gustafson — 1 single, 1 double
Allie Lucero — 2 singles, 1 walk
Maya Lucero — 1 single, 1 walk
Madison McMillan — 2 singles, 1 walk
Sofia Peters — 1 double
Audrianna Shaw — 3 singles, 1 triple
Izzy Wells — 3 singles, 2 doubles
Savina Wells – 1 walk
Coupeville Sports 