Coupeville Sports

Matt Hilborn denies you!!

April 12, 2017 by David Svien

Chris Smith is 2-0 in Olympic League play since assuming Coupeville’s head coaching position at the end of March. (John Fisken photo)

Mariano Rivera reborn.

Sophomore slinger Matt Hilborn has become Coupeville’s closer this season, and his biggest door slam arrived Wednesday afternoon.

Sliding over from third base to replace Dane Lucero on the hill midway through the seventh inning, Hilborn closed out Chimacum, stranding the potential game-tying run to seal a big-time 4-3 win for the Wolves.

The victory snaps a two-game skid for CHS, and, more importantly, came in a league game.

Now 2-1 in Olympic League play, 6-5 overall, the Wolves sit a half game off of Klahowya (2-0, 3-3) as they try and defend their league crown.

Chimacum (1-2, 3-3) slips into third place, while Port Townsend (0-2, 0-4) occupies the cellar.

Coupeville wraps up its non-conference schedule with three games in the next week, then makes its playoff push Apr. 21-May 3.

Over that period, the Wolves will play each of its league foes twice, with four of six on the road.

If Coupeville shows the same resilience down the stretch it did Wednesday, things could work out nicely.

The Wolves battled back from an early two-run deficit, then, once they had the lead, never relinquished it.

“Good close game,” said CHS coach Chris Smith. “Chimacum played us tough, like they always do.”

Things got interesting in the top of the seventh, though, as the Cowboys led off with back-to-back singles and plated a runner to slice the deficit to a single run.

Hilborn was having none of that, though, and he closed the game out with a bang, with Wolf first-baseman Kory Score getting the game’s final out.

Chimacum had scraped together two runs in the top of the first to take an early lead, and Coupeville remained scoreless until the fourth.

The Wolves finally got on the board when Clay Reilly singled and eventually came around to score on a passed ball.

With Lucero tossing goose eggs after the first, CHS hit its stride in the fifth, plating three to retake the lead at 4-2.

Taylor Consford, the master of the three-bagger this season, led off the inning with a resounding triple and that seemed to crack Chimacum’s calm exterior.

The tying run crossed home as Ethan Marx reached first on an error, then the Wolves went to work.

Marx pilfered two bags, scored on an RBI ground-out by Hilborn, then watched as Hunter Smith went about things in almost mirror-like fashion.

This time it was a single, then two steals from the ultra-speedy junior, before Joey Lippo brought Smith home on a sac fly.

Coupeville rapped out six hits on the day, with Reilly and Smith leading the way with a pair of singles apiece.

Hilborn added a single, while Consford ruled the afternoon with his extra-base knock.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged 1A Olympic League, baseball, Chimacum, CHS Wolves, Clay Reilly, Taylor Consford | Leave a Comment »

Knocked down, not out!!

April 12, 2017 by David Svien

Robin Cedillo whacked an RBI single down the first-base line Wednesday afternoon. (John Fisken photos)

Swinging a big bat, Veronica Crownover collected two of Coupeville’s seven hits, including an RBI double to straight-away center-field.

Round one to the Cowboys.

A day that started in torrential downpour morphed into a wind-fest and then, in the biggest surprise, turned into a sun-splashed, fairly calm afternoon on the prairie.

Unfortunately for the Coupeville High School softball squad, its previously-pristine record absorbed its first ding at the same time, as aggressive, hard-hitting Chimacum showed why it’s the two-time defending champions of the Olympic League.

By the time the Cowboys were done raining down hits, and tearing up the base-paths, they had run off with a resounding 15-4 win in a game called after six innings thanks to the mercy rule.

The loss drops Coupeville to 2-1 in league play, 7-1 overall, and it slides a game-and-a-half behind Chimacum (4-0, 5-1).

The Wolves have six games to play before the first of two rematches with the Cowboys Apr. 28.

The squads also tangle May 8, with both games on Chimacum’s diamond.

Along with four non-conference games, CHS has league tilts with Klahowya (0-2, 2-3) and Port Townsend (0-3, 0-4) before they again face the Cowboys.

When they do, they won’t need big changes, just a general clean-up.

“It was a good loss,” said Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan. “You never seek it (a loss) out, but it’s not always a bad thing.

“They hit the ball. I expected us to hit with them and we just didn’t today,” he added. “We need to hit and button down on the little knick-knack errors.”

The Wolves put bat on ball, and a glance at the score-book shows they were only out-hit 9-7.

But Chimacum, which was led by Shanya Nisbet (two doubles) and Grace Yaley (three singles), packed their hits together, while Coupeville’s base-knocks were far more strung out.

Add in an uncharacteristic five errors (and numerous bobbled balls) by the Wolves, and CHS was fighting uphill most of the way.

Trailing 3-0 after a half an inning, Coupeville cut the lead to 3-2 in the second, then promptly gave back five runs in the top of the third to seal its fate.

The Wolves scraped together their first runs after Mikayla Elfrank led off the second by lining a long shot to right field that was dropped for an error.

Veronica Crownover followed by crushing a laser shot of an RBI double to straight-away center-field — the hardest-hit ball by a Wolf all game.

Three batters later, Crownover, putting the pedal through the metal, beat a throw home after Robin Cedillo drilled a single off the first baseman’s glove.

Coupeville tacked on two more in the bottom of the third, slicing the lead to 8-4, and did all its damage after starting the inning with two outs and no one on base.

Katrina McGranahan walked, Sarah Wright slapped a single up the middle, then both came flying home on a thunderous double to left-center off of Elfrank’s still-smokin’ bat.

But, while the Wolves had runners on base every inning, they also left a lot of them high and dry, stranding runners in five of six innings.

The only time they didn’t, the inning ended on a runner being snuffed out at second on one of the few plays the field ump was actually on top of…

Chimacum hurler Holly Snider only whiffed two Wolves (while Katrina McGranahan notched seven K’s), but she was quite adept at getting Coupeville hitters to punch fly balls that her steady fielders ran down.

The Cowboys had three errors, but they all came at times where they ultimately mattered little.

Crownover, who also battled the wind to track down and snare a dangerous foul ball wide of first, paced Coupeville with two hits.

Both she and Elfrank had doubles while Cedillo, Katrina McGranahan, Hope Lodell and Jae LeVine added singles.

Posted in Softball | Tagged 1A Olympic League, Chimacum, CHS Wolves, first-place battle, Softball, Veronica Crownover | Leave a Comment »

Lasso them Cowboys!!

April 12, 2017 by David Svien

Hunter Downes, seen here during football season, knocked in his first two goals as a Wolf soccer player Tuesday afternoon. (John Fisken photo)

They found their scoring touch.

After struggling to find the back of the net just once in their last three games, the Coupeville High School booters unloaded on host Chimacum Tuesday afternoon.

The Wolves pounded away for a season-best scoring performance, rocking the Cowboys 7-0 and moving back within shouting distance of second place in the Olympic League.

With the win, CHS sits at 2-2 in league play, 3-5-1 overall, a half-game off of Port Townsend (2-1, 4-3) and a game and a half back of two-time defending champs Klahowya (3-0, 5-2-1).

Chimacum (0-4, 1-6) remains deeply mired in the basement.

The Wolves control their playoff destiny, with five of their final six games against league foes, including two more meetings apiece with both of the schools they trail.

Before it gets to that, Coupeville plays a final non-league game 5:15 PM Friday, when it hosts 2A Port Angeles.

The 1A Wolves are 1-1-1 against bigger schools this season, having beaten North Mason and tied with Olympic.

Tuesday, CHS spread its goal-scoring among five different shooters, with two booters recording their first goals of the season.

Wolf quarterback Hunter Downes, having just recently made the jump to the pitch, had an immediate impact, rattling home his first two scores in a soccer uniform.

Joining him in a repeat assault on the net was freshman Aram Leyva, who tallied his fourth and fifth goals of the season.

That pulls him within one of the team’s leading scorer, Ethan Spark.

Rounding out the Wolf assault on the net Tuesday were Laurence Boado, Zack Nall and James Wood.

It was Boado’s first goal, while Nall, who laid in a firecracker from 20 yards out, and Wood each tallied their second scores this year.

Spark and William Nelson set up two goals apiece, while Leyva, Wood and Uriel Liquidano also collected assists.

Dewitt Cole and Brian Roberts combined to pull off the shutout, with each Wolf net-minder working a scoreless half.

“It was a great league win,” said CHS coach Kyle Nelson. “It also shows some good growth for our team, being a much better result than our first game with them a month ago.”

Coupeville won 4-3 the first time around, after rallying from a two-goal deficit.

Posted in Boys Soccer | Tagged 1A Olympic League, Chimacum, CHS Wolves, rout, Soccer | Leave a Comment »

Pursuit of perfection!!

April 12, 2017 by David Svien

Jae LeVine and the hard-charging Wolf softball sluggers are a pristine 7-0. (John Fisken photo)

Hide the women and children.

There is a wild beast on the rampage and it’s chewing up and spitting out everything that gets in its way.

Crunching hits left and right, the Coupeville High School softball squad is off to the program’s best start in more than a decade, rolling to a perfect record heading into a major clash Wednesday afternoon.

The Wolves, fresh off a 16-2 dismantling of 2A North Mason Tuesday, host Chimacum 3:30 today in a battle for sole possession of first place in the 1A Olympic League.

The two-time defending champion Cowboys are 3-0 in league play, 4-1 overall, while CHS sits at 2-0, 7-0.

Coupeville will enjoy home cooking and a damp, windy prairie for their league clash, while Tuesday was all about spending most of the day on the bus.

The round-trip to Belfair gave the Wolves a solid eight-plus hours of listening to the wheels go round and round, but once CHS was on the field, it showed no ill effects.

“It was a long day but the ladies persevered and took care of business,” said Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan. “We got off the bus and got ready to play and the girls focused and got down to business right away.”

The Wolves piled up a quick three runs in the top of the first, then dropped the hammer with a five-spot the next inning around.

Coupeville beat the snot out of the ball, redirecting North Mason pitching for 12 hits, including a home run from Katrina McGranahan which cleared the center field fence with room to spare.

The Wolf hurler finished with three hits, four RBI, five runs scored (and a stolen base for good measure), while her catcher, Sarah Wright, spanked three hits as well, including a double.

She also had four RBI, while Mikayla Elfrank added two hits, three runs and a steal.

Coupeville got singles from Veronica Crownover, Robin Cedillo, Lauren Rose and Jae LeVine, as seven of nine starters recorded hits.

The only two who were denied base-knocks, Hope Lodell and Tiffany Briscoe, both reached base on walks, with Lodell scampering home to score.

North Mason could do little to rally, with Katrina McGranahan racking up six strikeouts and facing only three batters over the minimum.

“Our pitching overpowered them from the beginning and when they did hit it they were mostly weak infield hits,” Kevin McGranahan said. “Our defense again played strong behind that pitching and kept any possible rallies from starting.”

While the undefeated run is the talk of the town, the Wolves are being careful not to look too far ahead.

“I am extremely proud of these ladies and how they play as a team and for each other, not for themselves,” Kevin McGranahan said. “We are playing good softball and taking it one game at a time.”

Posted in Softball | Tagged 1A Olympic League, CHS Wolves, rout, Softball, undefeated | Leave a Comment »

One more shot!!

April 12, 2017 by David Svien

Practice today, prosper tomorrow. Brittany Powers works on her shooting skills. (John Fisken photo)

Always be shooting.

Like a gunslinger stalking the dusty streets of the Old West, the basketball sharpshooter needs to be quick on the trigger.

Offering their help is Pro Shot Shooting, which hopes to return to Coupeville High School in May for another clinic.

A clinic in the fall drew 60+ Wolf players (girls and boys), and a lot of the lessons learned helped the CHS girls squad roll to a third straight undefeated Olympic League season.

While the first clinic was an intensive six-hour program, the follow-up clocks in at a tidy three hours.

Cost is $25 per player and a minimum of 20 players need to be signed up to make the magic happen.

The clinic is open to CHS and CMS students in grades 6-12 and would be held Sunday, May 7 from 1-4 PM in the high school gym.

If interested, players or parents need to contact Wolf girls hoop coach David King at dking@coupeville.k12.wa.us by April 18.

Once they’ve hit the 20-Wolf cut-off and guaranteed the clinic, athletes will get a link where they can preregister and pay.

Players should plan on bringing their own basketball. If they don’t have one, alert Coach King in your email.

The clinic will feature shooting technique review, followed by shooting off the dribble and shooting off the catch.

“This is an opportunity for all players that attended the original clinic in the fall to come back in and get more instruction,” King said. “A great refresher.”

“It’s also a great opportunity for players that couldn’t attend the original to come in and get some instruction this spring,” he added. “If you want to improve your shooting form, jump at this chance.”

For a glimpse inside what Pro Shot Shooting offers, enjoy some quality time with YouTube: