Mia Farris picked up Central Whidbey’s lone RBI Sunday, as the Hammerheads fell to Shoreline and were eliminated from the state tourney. (Jackie Saia photos)
Chloe Marzocca scored one of her team’s two runs on the afternoon.
This is just the start for Brionna Blouin and Co.
The season has come to a close, but the dream has just been sparked.
A 13-2 loss to Shoreline Sunday at the state tourney in Poulsbo eliminated the Central Whidbey Little League Majors softball squad.
But while they’re headed back to Coupeville after going two and out at the big dance, the Hammerheads will have much to be thrilled about when they look back.
Central Whidbey finished a stellar 17-4, outscored foes 295-105, and showed class and talent while frequently facing-off with rivals with much-deeper rosters.
At both districts and the state tournament, most of the teams were true all-star squads, with players selected from multiple leagues.
With the Hammerheads, there was 12 girls — the same young women who played during the regular season — three coaches, and a vocal, supportive fan base.
All for one, and one for all, and the future of Coupeville softball just gets brighter and brighter.
The high school squad made it to state this spring, punching its ticket for the first time in five years.
Once there, the Wolves KO’d highly-ranked Deer Park, came within a play or two of upending Cle Elum, and hung with eventual state champ Montesano as much as anyone did.
You take that group, and it only loses three seniors, then you add players from the CWLL Juniors team, which finished 13-1 this spring, and the roster is loaded, the program is booming.
And now, coming up hot on their heels will be the Hammerhead players, who are tearing things up before many of them even hit middle school.
It’s an exciting time for softball in Cow Town, and it’s only going to get better.
Which is why, though they are surely saddened by losing Sunday, the Hammerheads should walk tall as they return to The Rock.
Facing a very-strong Shoreline team, Central Whidbey got the first punch in, and it was a solid one.
Lead-off hitter Savina Wells spanked a triple to center, then zinged home with the game’s first score when Mia Farris cracked a hard grounder to second.
Unfortunately, the three-bagger would be the one and only hit the Hammerheads would collect on the afternoon, and they only got a handful of runners aboard.
Chloe Marzocca bombed a ball off the right-fielder’s glove in the second inning, reaching on the resulting error.
After a steal of third, she came flying home on a passed ball to round out the Central scoring.
Other than those two brief moments, however, the Hammerheads were held to a pair of walks, as Taylor Brotemarkle and Jada Heaton eked out free passes, but were stranded on the bags.
Shoreline, on the other hand, reached base often, using an assortment of hits, walks, and Central Whidbey errors to push a steady string of runners across the plate.
Four runs in the bottom of the first gave them the lead, another five in the second stretched the margin out to 9-2, and a final four-spot in the third assured the mercy rule would end the game early.
Coupeville Sports 