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Swing and a click

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on March 17, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“Get off me, ball!! Way to wear it, babe!!!” Coupeville catcher Sarah Wright leads the dugout chatter after a teammate gets plunked. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Mollie Bailey: “I’m stealing second, coach.” Ron Wright: “Don’t even think about it.” Bailey: “They don’t call me Wheels for nothing, my man.” Wright: “No one calls you Wheels, shorty. Do we have to have this conversation every freakin’ time you get on base?” Bailey: “Yes, yes we do…”

Young stars (l to r) Izzy Wells, Audrianna Shaw, and Coral Caveness ponder the fate of the universe.

Homer-hittin’ titan Veronica Crownover arrives for the party.

Shaw flies home.

Mackenzie Davis comes up firing.

Wolf tennis stars Genna Wright (left) and Tia Wurzrainer have no fear of the sunshine.

Wells delivers the high, hard cheese.

There was a little bit of everything for everyone.

Saturday brought with it three Coupeville High School softball games, two for the varsity and another for the JV squad.

Toss in some rare early-spring sunshine, a lot of wins, and some steady camera-clicking by John Fisken, and it was a fairly complete day.

To see everything the paparazzi shot, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Coupeville-Softball-2018-2019/SB-2019-03-16-vs-OH/

And, remember, a percentage from any purchases goes to help fund scholarships for CHS senior student/athletes.

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Big hearts, big win

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , , , on March 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Senior softball slugger Veronica Crownover smashed a three-run home run, a two-run double, and the world’s longest RBI single Saturday, as 1A Coupeville shocked 3A Oak Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Something special happened Saturday in Oak Harbor.

Many will immediately think I’m talking about the Coupeville High School softball squad, repping one of the smallest 1A schools in the state, stunning their 3A hosts 8-3 in the first varsity match-up between these programs in maybe forever.

And it was sweet, watching Wolf senior Veronica Crownover smash a three-run home run over the towering left field fence, while missing a second round-tripper by about an inch.

Cranking six extra-base hits, Coupeville’s sluggers proved the size of your hearts can trump the size of the school you’re facing.

The win gave the Wolves a doubleheader split on the day (both Whidbey schools fell to 2A powerhouse Lakewood), and evens Coupeville’s record at 2-2 heading into its first league games.

If you know me, my first reaction is to say something snarky along the lines of “they might live here, but we own the Island.”

But…

Let’s take a moment to give big props to new Oak Harbor softball coach Alicia Ashburn and her assistants, for doing what previous Wildcat coaches did not, and would not, do.

They stepped up and agreed to play Coupeville, even while knowing if a large 3A school fell to a tiny 1A institution, they would have to deal with Wolf fans dancing in their parking lots.

But they did the right thing, bringing together girls who, while they are at different high schools now, grew up often playing on the same little league or travel ball squads.

CHS coach Kevin McGranahan has been asking for this game since stepping into the job, and Saturday was the culmination of everything he wanted.

A win, yes, but also a chance to test himself and his players against our Island’s biggest high school.

Coupeville and South Whidbey occupy the same 1A North Sound Conference, and will face off three times this season. That was assured.

Saturday’s game, which was added to the schedule late, was a rare gift, one McGranahan greatly appreciates.

“This win was four years in the making and it feels good,” he said. “Both teams played their hearts out, and this is what the game is about.

“Friends that grew up and played little league together, now playing for their respective schools and having a blast doing it. It is the smiles and friendly banter that is what makes it so nice to see.”

As an (admittedly biased) writer, please have no doubt I wanted Coupeville to win. Badly.

I long ago gave up the impartiality of my old school newspaper days.

But I can also appreciate, as McGranahan does, what Ashburn accomplished with a simple “yes.”

Saturday’s game was a thriller, a one-run affair until almost the end.

It offered a special spotlight for Coupeville’s seniors — Crownover, Sarah Wright, and Nicole Laxton — and also for fab frosh Izzy Wells, who chucked a complete-game win from the pitcher’s circle while dealing with a ripped-up finger on her throwin’ hand.

And, hopefully, it is the start of a new rivalry.

The Wolves obviously can’t go toe-to-toe with the Wildcats in sports like football, where the disparity in roster size makes the issue a non-starter.

But softball is, without a doubt, a sport in which the two schools can face off, with both teams taking the field knowing it can, and will be, a true battle.

So, my plea to both sides, but especially to Oak Harbor, which largely controls the decision – let’s make this a yearly event.

The quality of play Saturday, from both teams, and the heart and hustle, the excitement, and the fight shown, makes it a necessity.

And it was a rumble, with Oak Harbor poking across the game’s first run in the bottom of the opening inning.

But, after going down one-two-three in the top of the first, Coupeville brought its bats alive, lighting up the scoreboard for a pair of runs in both the second and third innings.

The Wolves opened the second with three straight base-knocks, with Wright and Mollie Bailey punching singles to set Crownover up for the first, but far from last, hero moment of the game.

Turning on a pitch with a stunning ferocity, the Wolf first-baseman walloped the ball to deep center field, sending both of her teammates streaking for home as she pulled into second base with a stand-up double.

While Oak Harbor escaped the inning with little damage after that, just plunking Laxton for the first of two times she would be drilled in the game, the tide had turned.

Wells was bobbing and weaving, chucking strikeouts and inducing ground-outs, and she stranded a Wildcat at third after a gem of a triple from Sam Scott.

Providing immediate support to their freshman ace, the Wolves picked up two runs in the third off of an RBI double from Wright and the world’s longest RBI single by Crownover.

The hottest hitter in the Northern hemisphere launched a moon shot to dead center, and everyone froze for a moment, watching as the ball hit the very top of the fence, thought about crawling over for a home run, then plopped back onto the field.

Veronica’s dad, Darren, wailed like he had been whacked in the groin with a two-by-four when the ball refused to go out of the yard, but, spoiler alert, a little later in this story he’ll be really, really happy.

Oak Harbor didn’t crack down three runs, though, getting one back in the third on a majestic home run from Kayla Crocker, then another in the fifth on an RBI single by Tamara Bennett.

The damage could have been worse, much worse, in the fifth, but Wolf shortstop Chelsea Prescott pulled off a dazzling double play to stem the tide.

Scooping up a hot grounder, the CHS sophomore alertly spun, tagged a runner going by her, then delivered a wicked throw into Crownover’s glove, beating the incoming Wildcat by a millimeter.

Maybe a millimeter and a half.

Oak Harbor’s defense also came up big-time during the middle part of the game, stiffing Coupeville in two consecutive innings.

The ‘Cats escaped a base-loaded jam in the fourth, started by an epic triple off the bat of Scout Smith, then nailed a runner coming home in the fifth thanks to a powerful, precise throw from left field.

With the game sitting at 4-3 headed into the top of the sixth, the overflow crowd, a mix of partisan fans from both towns, was agitated, full of angst and popping M & M’s like they were going out of style.

Wait, that was just me…

But it was OK, cause M & M’s are delicious, and because the Wolves reached a special level with the game hanging by a thread.

Emma Mathusek got things rolling with a single, slapping the ball into the gap like she was playing pool and taking people’s money while doing it.

A one-out double from Wright put runners on second and third, but an alert Oak Harbor fielder kept anyone from scoring, setting up the magic moment.

Or two moments.

The first was a miracle, because it makes no sense how it happened.

Bailey looped a ball towards second base, and the ball, operating with a mind of its own, somehow evaded every Wildcat in the area, dropping suddenly and burrowing into the ground for an improbable, but much-appreciated, RBI single.

And then a shadow covered the field.

Striding to the plate like she was preparing to sack a rival’s castle in olden times, twisting her bat until it screamed for mercy, Veronica Crownover was on a mission.

After whacking her double and top-of-the-wall single, Oak Harbor had intentionally walked her the next time up.

This time, with two runners on base, and after some serious eyeballing of her dugout, the Wildcat hurler came after Crownover, two young women fixing for a back-alley brawl.

Don’t get in a back-alley brawl with Veronica Crownover.

Almost breaking her bat in half, and almost (almost…) making her hitting coach smile in approval, the two-time All-League player hit the ball halfway to Deception Pass Bridge.

By the time the bright yellow orb descended, it was on the other side of the towering left-field fence, some 219-plus feet away, her father had screamed loud enough the relatives back in Pennsylvania had heard him, and the game was a done deal.

Oak Harbor still had two innings to hit, but Wells closed the game with her best pitches.

Ignoring the pain of a shredded finger, she gave up just a pair of walks once she had an 8-3 lead, ending the game by getting a final ‘Cat to loft a soft fly which landed with a sweet lil’ plop as Mathusek pulled the ball in and squeezed it tightly to her chest in center.

Coupeville’s most complete game of the still-young season, it featured 12 hits, with Crownover (HR, 2B, epic 1B), Wright (2B, two 1B’s), and Bailey (two 1B’s) leading the way.

Smith had her triple, Mackenzie Davis smoked a double, while Wells and Mathusek added singles.

Wells, who has both of Coupeville’s wins from the pitcher’s circle, finished with a high school career-high six strikeouts.

 

Game One:

Lakewood hit with power, fielded with grace, pitched with precision, and put on a show, rolling to 4-1 with an 18-5 win over Coupeville, followed by a 14-1 dismantling of Oak Harbor.

The Wolves had their moments, racking up seven hits, including doubles from four different players, and had a nice four-run rally in the third inning.

Laxton led off the frame with a single, followed by Smith, Mathusek, and Prescott crunching back-to-back-to-back doubles.

Mathusek’s shot brought two runners around, Prescott’s plated a third, and the Wolves garnered a final run on a rare Lakewood error.

With four runs in, the bases juiced, and just one out, there were a few fans (OK, maybe just me) who entertained thoughts of Coupeville coming all the way back from the 15-1 deficit it faced at the start of the inning.

It wasn’t to be, however, as Lakewood used a strikeout and a slightly dubious interference call on a Wolf runner to bring things to an end.

Smith (1B, 2B) paced the Coupeville attack, while Mathusek (2B), Crownover (2B), Prescott (2B), Laxton (1B), and Wright (1B) also collected a base-knock.

Freshman third-baseman Audrianna Shaw walked twice.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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