Fab frosh Chase Anderson, ready to make the magic happen. (Morgan White photo)
“The Magic Man” delivered.
Freshman Chase Anderson, already a grizzled vet in his second season of high school ball, smacked a game-busting RBI single in the top of the sixth inning Tuesday, lifting Coupeville to an important early-season win.
That base knock, and a stellar pitching performance from senior Scott Hilborn, sparked the Wolves to a 3-1 win on Friday Harbor.
With the victory, CHS gets to 2-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-2 overall.
Even more important, those first two conference W’s have come against La Conner and Friday Harbor — the other two 2B schools in the seven-team NWL.
While 1B schools Orcas Island and Mount Vernon Christian look ready to tangle with the 2B schools for the league title, Coupeville’s shot at making the state playoffs solely rests on how it does against schools in its own classification.
The Wolves play both La Conner and Friday Harbor twice more in the regular season, but a 2-0 start bodes well for the future.
Especially after CHS won a true gut-check on the road Tuesday afternoon.
Trailing 1-0 through three innings, the Wolves knotted things at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, thanks to timely hitting and some Friday Harbor miscues.
Anderson dropped a bunt, then flustered the host team badly enough to land on second base during the ensuing error-fest by the Wolverines.
The frosh phenom moved to third base on a Cole White single, only to be picked off the bag.
No worries, however, as Wolf senior Jonathan Valenzuela promptly lashed an RBI single to center, sending White scrambling home with the tying run.
Friday Harbor’s opening tally, which came thanks to an error and an RBI double off the bat of senior Geoffry Volk, was the only time the hosts dinged Coupeville ace Scott Hilborn.
Pitching the way dad (and coach) Steve taught him, the Wolf senior whiffed 10 batters across six innings of work, with most of his K’s coming at clutch moments.
With the game knotted at 1-1, and the younger Hilborn throwing heat, Coupeville surged ahead in the top of the sixth.
The Wolf hurler zipped a one-out single to center, then stole second and third to set the stage for his young teammate.
Anderson’s blow also landed in the middle of the outfield, then Coupeville notched an insurance run thanks to a walk to White and a sac fly from Valenzuela.
Desperate to get back into the game, Friday Harbor pushed hard, getting two runners aboard in the bottom of the sixth, and another in the seventh, and final, frame.
Both times Coupeville pitchers came up huge.
First, Scott Hilborn induced a grounder back to the mound to end the sixth, pivoting and plopping the ball into the waiting glove of Landon Roberts at first base.
Then, in the seventh, Valenzuela came out of the bullpen to slam the door shut, ripping off back-to-back strikeouts to open things.
Friday Harbor slipped a single into a gap, bringing the tying run to the plate, but the Wolverines were denied, their final out of the day a weak grounder to second.
All that left was the celebration, with the Wolves flexing the win all over Instagram.
Coupeville, which has a road game at MVC Thursday and a home clash against Orcas Saturday, got something from everyone in the lineup in the road win.
Jack Porter led the way, pasting a pair of hits, while White collected a base knock and a walk.
Scott Hilborn, Anderson, and Valenzuela had singles, with Coop Cooper, Roberts, Peyton Caveness, Johnny Porter, Aiden O’Neill, and Seth Woollet also seeing field time.
Coupeville Sports 