Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Hail the hardball pics

March 17, 2023 by David Svien

Chase Anderson brings the heat. (Morgan White photos)

With a click-click here, and a click-click there, Morgan White delivers the goods.

The Wolf mom/school board director/baseball junkie was on the road Thursday, and snapped the pics seen above and below as Coupeville’s hardball heroes faced off with Meridian.

Scott Hilborn streaks for home.

Peyton Caveness waits for the pitch.

Johnny Porter enjoys his afternoon.

Jonathan Valenzuela drops the hammer.

Aiden O’Neill aims for the fence.

Cole White (left) and Landon Roberts bask in the (chilly) afternoon sun.

The moment before it all happens.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Benefit event offers positive message

March 17, 2023 by David Svien

Fabian Ramirez

Mark Apr. 14 on your calendar.

That night the Brandon Graham Foundation hosts a dinner/educational awareness event at the Elks Lodge in Oak Harbor, with renowned speaker Fabian Ramirez slated to deliver a presentation on anti-bullying.

The event starts at 5:30 PM and is $15. Admission is free for educators and school staff who present school ID.

The Elks Lodge is located at 155 NE Ernst St.

Ramirez, who is a speaker and drug prevention specialist, specializes in presenting effective ways to eliminate bullying on school campuses.

His program has been heard in school assemblies by thousands of students and faculty across the United States.

Building off of his own experiences of being bullied in middle school, Ramirez “brings real-life scenarios to every presentation that he delivers.”

The Brandon Graham Foundation, founded to honor the memory of a much-loved former Coupeville student, focuses on mental health wellness, anti-bullying, and suicide awareness.

 

For more info on the foundation, pop over to:

https://www.thebrandongrahamfoundation.com/

 

For more info on Fabian Ramirez, check out:

Home

Posted in Fundraisers | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Step up to help one of Coupeville’s best

March 17, 2023 by David Svien

Abby Mulholland (left) and Gwen Gustafson celebrate a basket. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Family friends have launched a GoFundMe to help Abby Mulholland and her parents.

The 2022 Coupeville grad, who played volleyball, basketball, and tennis for the Wolves, was seriously injured in a rollover car accident a week ago while at college.

Mulholland, who was a passenger in the back seat, was ejected from the vehicle.

She suffered two neck fractures, a brain bleed, a broken arm, broken pelvis, hip fracture, liver laceration, spleen laceration, deep knee cuts, and a bruised lung.

Initially housed at a hospital in Idaho, Mulholland is expected to be transferred to Spokane for the start of her rehabilitation.

While all signs have been positive, the former Wolf faces a lot of work to get back to 100%, and family friends are asking the community to help her parents, Moose and Renae, during the coming weeks and months.

Abby is part of one of Coupeville’s core sports families.

She is the granddaughter of the late, great Dorothy Keefe on her mom’s side of the family, and whether they go by Keefe or O’Keefe these days, her uncles and cousins can be found all over the school record books.

After playing volleyball and basketball herself, Abby finished her high school career as the #1 singles player for Ken Stange’s Wolf tennis team.

Mulholland rips a return.

 

To read more and help the family, pop over to:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/mullholland-family-medical-go-fund-me

Posted in Fundraisers | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

Late rally falls just short

March 16, 2023 by David Svien

Softball sluggers (l to r) Mia Farris, Jada Heaton, and Taylor Brotemarkle are all key contributors as sophomores. (Photo courtesy Jennifer Heaton)

The rally caps almost worked.

Trailing by six runs heading into the final inning Thursday, the Coupeville High School softball squad brought the go-ahead run to the plate but couldn’t quite topple host Meridian.

Instead, the Trojans made a game-saving defensive play on a blast to center field, slipping away with an 11-9 win.

The narrow non-conference loss, coming less than 24 hours after a big home victory over South Whidbey, evens Coupeville’s record at 1-1.

“We kept our heads up and almost came all the way back,” said CHS coach Kevin McGranahan.

“Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn; tonight, we learned, and those lessons are valuable.”

The 2B Wolves, who have opened with back-to-back games against 1A foes, now return home to face Northwest 2B/1B League rival La Conner next Tuesday, Mar. 21.

Coupeville plays seven of its next nine tilts at home.

Thursday’s rumble with always-competitive Meridian started in favor of the Wolves, as they jumped on the Trojan pitcher for a quick three runs in the top of the first inning.

Teagan Calkins reached on an error and Mia Farris crunched an RBI single, before Taylor Brotemarkle and Madison McMillan plated runners while giving themselves up.

The lead didn’t hold for long, however, as Meridian took advantage of several Coupeville defensive miscues to build a 7-3 lead by the end of the third inning.

The Wolves pushed one runner across in both the fourth and fifth, with Sofia Peters smacking an RBI double and Melanie Navarro shooting an RBI single into a gap.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, Meridian tacked on two more runs in its half of the fourth, then did it again in the bottom of the sixth.

That left CHS trailing 11-5 headed to the game’s final frame, but the Wolf hitters made a solid stand in the top of the seventh.

Brotemarkle and McMillan rapped singles to set the scene, before Navarro mashed her third home run of the young season.

A day after walloping two taters against South Whidbey, the Wolf senior sent a three-run dinger sailing out of the park and Coupeville was back in business.

Singles from Allie Lucero and Peters kept the comeback alive, but Meridian found a way out at the last moment, tracking down a shot to center for the game’s final out.

Peters paced the Wolves with three hits, including a two-bagger, while Navarro (1B, HR), McMillan (1B, 3B), Allie Lucero (1B, 1B), and Farris (1B, 1B) each had a pair of base knocks.

Calkins and Brotemarkle rounded out the hit parade, with a single apiece, while Gwen Gustafson, Maya Lucero, and Jada Heaton also saw game action for Coupeville.

Posted in Softball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Plenty of hits, not enough runs

March 16, 2023 by David Svien

Landon Roberts was one of 10 Wolves to reach base Thursday. (Photo courtesy Sherry Bonacci)

They won the battle but lost the war.

Playing on the road for the first time this season, the Coupeville High School baseball squad outhit host Meridian 11-5 Thursday, only to fall 8-4 on the scoreboard.

The Wolves had their chances, putting base runners aboard in every inning, but couldn’t find that one big base knock to truly stagger the Trojans.

The non-conference loss, coming less than 24 hours after a home win against South Whidbey, evens Coupeville’s early-season record at 1-1.

The 2B Wolves get right back at it Saturday, travelling to North Mason to play their third consecutive game against a 1A opponent.

Thursday’s tilt started in favor of Coupeville, and the visitors were still within a run as late as the fourth inning, before several defensive mistakes stung them.

Wolf freshman Chase Anderson put his team on the board in the top of the first, whacking a one-out double, then scampering home to score on an RBI single from starting pitcher Jonathan Valenzuela.

Up 1-0, CHS had a chance to add to its lead in the second inning but stranded two runners after Landon Roberts walked and Aiden O’Neill singled.

Meridian scored the majority of its runs in two frames, pushing across four runners in the bottom of the second inning to claim the lead for good.

Coupeville stranded two more runners in the third, but Valenzuela shut down the Trojans and the Wolves rallied to cut the lead to 4-3 in their half of the fourth.

Scott Hilborn and Anderson delivered back-to-back two-out RBI singles to ruffle the Meridian pitcher, but the Trojans escaped and immediately got some payback.

The hosts tacked on three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Meridian only had one hit in the frame, but four walks and a passed ball proved to be the difference.

Trailing 7-3, Coupeville stranded two runners in the fifth and another in the sixth, before finally bringing home a runner in the top of the seventh, and final, inning.

Meridian had stretched the lead to 8-3, before Peyton Caveness reached on an error, then later scored on another Trojan miscue.

The rally died there, however, with Valenzuela thrown out at the plate while trying to score on a Coop Cooper single, and an ensuing groundout bringing an end to the game.

All 10 Coupeville players to see the field reached base Thursday.

Valenzuela paced the Wolves with three hits, while Hilborn and Anderson collected two base knocks apiece.

Caveness, Jack Porter, Cooper, and O’Neill also had hits, while Roberts, Johnny Porter, and Cole White got aboard thanks to walks.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »