Sophomore hurler Daniel Olson struck out seven in five innings Monday as Coupeville won its fifth-straight game and clinched a playoff berth. (Photo by Karen Carlson)
Mission: accomplished.
At least the first part of the mission, that is.
Never losing faith after an 0-12 start to the season, the Coupeville High School baseball squad has bounced back to win five straight and clinch a playoff berth.
The latest victory came Monday afternoon, as the Wolves dodged rain drops and visiting Granite Falls to nab a 6-5 win in extra innings.
When Matt Hilborn’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth plated Mason Grove, it all came together for CHS.
Now 5-8 in North Sound Conference play, 5-12 overall, the Wolves clinch their league’s #4 playoff seed and are guaranteed a trip to bi-districts.
They’ll join Cedar Park Christian (12-1, 16-2), South Whidbey (11-2, 16-2), and King’s (7-5, 8-9), while Granite Falls (2-11, 4-14) and Sultan (1-11, 1-16) get no postseason love this spring.
The four NSC teams will clash with three teams from the Northwest Conference and two from the Emerald City League, with four of the nine advancing to state.
Coupeville, after wrapping up the regular season with two more games against Granite — Wednesday on the road and Friday at home on Senior Night — open bi-districts May 4 on a neutral field at Sehome High School.
Win at least one of two games that day, and the Wolves live to play again May 11.
To see the bi-district bracket, pop over to:
http://www.nscathletics.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=2913&sport=6
Monday’s game was a back-and-forth affair, with the teams exchanging leads several times, before treating fans to free baseball.
After Wolf starting pitcher Daniel Olson slipped out of a jam in the first inning, using the first of his seven strikeouts to muzzle the Tigers, Coupeville struck for two runs in the bottom of the frame.
Hilborn bashed a lead-off double, and Granite helped mightily, committing three of their eventual six errors in just a single inning.
The lead held up for a bit, even though Coupeville left a golden scoring opportunity unanswered in the bottom of the second inning.
The Wolves had a runner 90 feet away from pay-dirt after Shane Losey ripped a one-out triple, but the senior was left clamped to the bag as Granite’s pitcher wiggled away from danger like a worm evading a plunging hawk.
Sparked by their miracle escape, the visitors finally got their bats going, pinging shots to all fields as they piled up four runs during a third-inning rally.
But there was no break in the spirit of the Wolves, just a deep commitment to rallying time and again.
A two-run double off the bat of Ulrik Wells in the fourth inning knotted the game back up at 4-4, before CHS pushed a run across in the fifth to reclaim the lead.
The tie-breaker came courtesy singles from Hilborn and Hawthorne Wolfe and two more errors by the shaky Granite defense.
With their season hanging by a thread, the Tigers refused to go down easy, rallying for one last run in the top of the seventh to set up the nerve-wracking finale.
In the end, Coupeville punched its playoff ticket with a mix of grit, big plays and stellar work by young and old.
Freshman relief ace Cody Roberts stranded Granite’s go-ahead run at second base in the top of the eighth, closing things with a big strikeout before inducing an inning-ending ground-out.
Taking immediate advantage, the Wolves primed the stage with back-to-back walks by Grove and Losey, which brought Hilborn, once a bright-eyed youngster, but now a grizzled vet, to the plate.
Capping a four-hit day, the senior standout tattooed the ball out where Granite had no chance to make a play, sending himself and his team into the postseason.
Coupeville, which has been torrid at the plate during its winning streak, banged out nine hits on the afternoon.
Hilborn had a double and three singles to lead the way, while Losey (3B), Wells (2B), Bryce Payne (1B), Wolfe (1B), and Dane Lucero (1B) all added base-knocks.
