Coupeville Sports

Fire up the busses

April 23, 2023 by David Svien

Wolf netters Djina Radenovic (left) and Emma Morano are ready to swing into action. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Other than the weather, CHS fans have had plenty to be happy about this spring.

Is the price of gas going to drop?

That’s the question on the mind of Coupeville High School Athletic Director Willie Smith, as Wolf spring sports teams hit the road for five of seven contests next week.

Girls’ tennis has the week off — from competition, if not practice — but baseball, softball, and track and field all will listen to the sound of the wheels on the bus goin’ round ‘n round.

Baseball and softball travel to Concrete Tuesday and Darrington Thursday, before closing out the week at home Saturday against La Conner.

That weekend doubleheader is Senior Night for the Wolf diamond players, with both games set to start at 1:00 PM.

Meanwhile, the CHS track team, or part of it at least, travels to Lakewood Saturday for the Sunny and 70 Invitational, the final meet before the postseason kicks off.

Based on “spring” weather so far, it’ll be cloudy, windy, wet and 45 degrees, no matter what the event is called.

As we head into a new week, a look at current standings for teams which keep track of wins and losses:

Northwest League baseball:

School	League	Overall
MV Christian	10-1	10-3
Coupeville	9-1	11-4
Friday Harbor	6-3	6-5
Orcas Island	5-6	8-6
Darrington	4-6	5-6
La Conner	1-9	2-11
Concrete	0-9	0-9

Northwest League girls tennis:

School	League	Overall
Coupeville	2-0	2-4
Friday Harbor	0-2	0-2

Northwest League softball:

School	League	Overall
Coupeville	7-1	10-5
Friday Harbor	6-1	9-4
Darrington	5-1	6-2
Orcas Island	3-5	3-9
La Conner	1-6	1-12
Concrete	0-8	0-10

Posted in standings | Tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, girls tennis, Northwest League, Softball, standings | Leave a Comment »

Have bats, will mash

April 22, 2023 by David Svien

Ask not for whom the bat tolls. It tolls for thee. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“Today we put the league on notice! We are keeping the crown!!”

Coupeville High School softball coach Kevin McGranahan was feeling good Saturday, and why not.

Having travelled to Orcas Island to face a decent Vikings squad, the Wolves opened a can of unholy whup ass on their hosts, blowing them out 22-0 in a game mercy-ruled after three innings.

Led by out-of-the-park home runs from Mia Farris and Haylee Armstrong, CHS solidified its hold on first place in the Northwest 2B/1B League, jumping to 7-1 in conference play.

Now 10-5 overall, the Wolves have won seven of their last eight games.

Fueled by tasty noodles, Madison McMillan and Co. are on a winning tear. (Jennifer Marzocca photo)

Saturday, Coupeville dominated in every aspect of the game.

Senior hurler Gwen Gustafson struck out nine, not allowing her defense to get a single out on its own.

The Vikings did scratch out one hit and two walks, but that paled in comparison to Coupeville ringing up 16 base knocks and seven free passes.

Two of the biggest blows came from the sweet-swinging Farris, who clobbered an RBI triple and a grand slam home run — all in the first inning.

CHS rolled out to a 9-0 lead after one frame, tossed three more runs on the board in the second, then emphatically ended things with a 10-run burst in the third.

Armstrong, an 8th grader playing like a seasoned pro, joined Farris in the long ball club, belting a two-run shot that was still climbing as it cleared the fence in left center.

Powered by her mom’s flowers, 8th grader Haylee Armstrong smashed her first high school home run Saturday. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

Saturday stats:

Capri Anter — One walk
Haylee Armstrong — One home run
Taylor Brotemarkle — Two singles
Teagan Calkins — One single, one double, one walk
Mia Farris — One double, one triple, one home run
Gwen Gustafson — One single, one walk
Allie Lucero — One single, one double
Maya Lucero — One single, one double
Chloe Marzocca — One walk
Madison McMillan — Two singles, one walk
Melanie Navarro — One single
Sofia Peters — Two walks

Posted in Softball | Tagged CHS Wolves, Mia Farris, Northwest League, Orcas Island, road win, Softball | Leave a Comment »

Wolf diamond dogs chomp Vikings

April 22, 2023 by David Svien

Scott Hilborn drops the hammer. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

All in all, a pretty dang good week.

Sparked by another stellar pitching performance from senior Scott Hilborn, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad toppled host Orcas Island Saturday, heading back to the ferry with a 4-2 win.

That gives the Wolves three Northwest 2B/1B League wins over the last five days and keeps them a half-game out of first place.

CHS sits at 9-1 in conference action, with four NWL games left to play, while Mount Vernon Christian is 10-1 with three left on the schedule.

The Wolves, now 11-4 overall and winner of seven of their last eight games, face the league’s bottom three teams next week.

They travel to Concrete (0-9) Tuesday, trek to Darrington (4-6) Thursday, then host La Conner (1-9) Saturday on Senior Night.

After that comes a non-conference rumble with Sultan and the regular-season finale against league rival Friday Harbor, before Coupeville heads to the district playoffs as a #1 seed.

Facing a solid Orcas Island team Saturday, Hilborn was in control from start to finish, scattering three hits while whiffing nine Vikings.

Coupeville jumped in front 2-0 in the top of the second inning, putting together three straight hits from Jack Porter, Peyton Caveness, and Cole White.

Caveness slammed a double, while the second Wolf run came zipping home on a fielder’s choice groundout off the bat of Johnny Porter.

For quite a bit, that two-run lead was all Hilborn needed, as he retired the first seven hitters he faced, and got out of a teeny-tiny jam in the fourth thanks to a double play started by Jonathan Valenzuela.

Even on the coldest of days, Jonathan Valenzuela’s defense is red-hot. (Morgan White photo)

But Coupeville’s own bats went cold for a couple of innings, and Orcas finally cracked the code in the bottom of the fifth.

Two Viking hitters embraced the pain and let themselves be drilled by wayward pitches to get things started, with Calvin Saxe whacking a two-run single to left to knot things up at 2-2.

The Wolves have been resilient all season, however, and they quickly responded, pushing two runners of their own across in the top of the sixth to retake the lead.

Chase Anderson and Valenzuela connected on back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, while Jack Porter came up with a mammoth two-out hit.

Orcas committed an error on Porter’s RBI single, allowing a second Wolf to race home, and the deed was done.

Hilborn retired six of the final seven hitters, setting the Vikings down 1-2-3 in the seventh to send local fans back to their cars with tear-stained faces.

Or at least I’d like to think so.

Saturday stats:

Chase Anderson — One single
Peyton Caveness — One double
Jack Porter — Two singles
Landon Roberts — One single
Jonathan Valenzuela — One single, one walk
Cole White — One single

Posted in Baseball | Tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Orcas Island, road win, Scott Hilborn | Leave a Comment »

JV plays tough to the (premature) end

April 22, 2023 by David Svien

A day after his birthday, Landon Roberts whiffed three batters in an inning of work on the mound. (Morgan White photo)

The ferry waits for no man.

Even if they’re in the middle of playing a baseball game.

That’s a cold, hard fact for people who live on islands, so Saturday’s JV baseball game between visiting Coupeville High School and host Orcas came to an early end after three innings.

That allowed the Vikings to hold on for a 5-2 win against a young Wolf squad just finding its rhythm.

“All in all, we are happy to get a few innings in before we had to abruptly call the game,” said CHS coach Jon Roberts.

“I truly wish we could have played at least five innings. I think we could have clawed our way back into it.

“However, we will never know if that would be true.”

The Wolves, now 0-4-1 on the season, started strongly, scoring two runs in the top of the first.

All three of Coupeville’s hits came in that inning, with Marcelo Gebhard and Jack Farrell ripping singles and Aidyn McDermott crunching a double.

Both runs came in on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Seth Woollet, while the inning ended when Orcas gunned down a runner headed home.

“An exciting start!” Jon Roberts said. “The opposition pitcher had just played the field on varsity. We were making contact and scoring runs.”

Unfortunately for Coupeville, its first-inning hits would be its only base knocks in the game, though the Wolves did draw three walks across the final two innings.

Orcas only recorded one hit on the afternoon but took advantage of a series of free passes to push four runs across in the first, and another one in the second.

CHS mixed its pitchers, with Yohannan Sandles getting the start, before Myca Clarkson and Landon Roberts followed him to the mound.

The final two hurlers both whiffed three Vikings apiece.

Coupeville’s JV returns to action next Thursday, April 27, when it travels to Darrington.

Saturday stats:

David Dominici — One walk
Jack Farrell — One single
Marcelo Gebhard — One single
Matthew Gilbert — One walk
Aidyn McDermott — One double
Skylar Sand — One walk
Yohannon Sandles — One walk

Posted in Baseball | Tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Jack Farrell, JV, Landon Roberts, Orcas Island | Leave a Comment »

Scrappy Wolves vie at 91-team meet

April 22, 2023 by David Svien

CHS seniors (l to r) Dominic Coffman, Alex Murdy, and Tim Ursu all are dreaming of postseason success. (Sandi Murdy photo)

Welcome to the BIG time.

The 33rd annual GearUp Eason Invitational drew track and field athletes to Snohomish Saturday from 91 different schools, encompassing two states and two countries.

Washington state teams were joined by squads from Oregon — including a 6A school — and British Columbia, with Coupeville High School the only “B” school in attendance.

And while the Wolves didn’t pull off any wins, they did get a Top 10 performance in the shot put from senior Carolyn Lhamon, who was 9th in a field of 40 throwers.

While the competition was extreme, CHS coaches and athletes came away pleased with their effort.

“A little rain, less sun, lots of clouds and some beautiful PR’s!!!!,” said Wolf track guru Elizabeth Bitting. “Long day and a successful one!

“They all did amazing! Especially those 4 x 400 relay teams,” she added. “Three of the four girls and two of the boys attended JUST for that race AND they were the very last events.

“Such a long day for them! Super proud that both teams PR’d!”

Even qualifying for the meet was super-intensive, with only the best of the best making the cut.

Having Aidan Wilson get the invite in four events, while fellow senior Tate Wyman made it in three warms Bitting’s heart.

“That’s impressive,” she said. “We might be small, but we are mighty!”