Sage Sharp reached base twice as Coupeville battled North Mason on the wind-swept prairie. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Somewhere in Coupeville people frolicked Saturday afternoon, bathed in sunshine and warmth.
Some bought ice cream at Kapaw’s, while others scampered over to watch Orcas swim by in Penn Cove.
And then there were the few, the proud, the unbreakable — the ones lost out on the open prairie, hunched over as an unforgiving wind slashed across the Coupeville High School baseball field and knifed us, one and all, right in the freakin’ kidneys.
Those folks, the ones contemplating lighting their jackets on fire for warmth — while still wearing those same coats — now know what weather conditions must have been like for soldiers fighting at Stalingrad.
Except some of those guys got shot in the first 30 seconds, while they were still halfway warm.
We were out there for two hours plus.
So basically, CHS Athletic Director Willie Smith needs to start handing out purple hearts or personal, battery-powered heaters, or convince the rest of the state to start high school baseball games in May.
While we breathlessly wait for any of that to happen, those still alive — those chipped free from the ice and revived thanks to having jumper cables attached to their chests out in the parking lot — can recount a tale of a pretty good game being played in the middle of Hell Storm ’22.
Not a great game, mind you, only because Coupeville, playing without three starters, couldn’t quite pull the win out, falling 7-5 to visiting North Mason.
Still, with two freshmen and an 8th grader in the starting lineup, the Wolves showed a lot of heart, rallying from behind twice and coming within one well-placed hit of nabbing a walk-off win.
Unfortunately for CHS, Scott Hilborn’s bash down the left field line with the bags full and two outs in the bottom of the seventh curled foul at the very last second.
When his next moon shot was tracked down along the first-base line for the game’s final out, the Wolves fell to 1-3 in non-conference play.
Next up for Coupeville, which should have a reloaded lineup after a busy weekend, is the first of seven-straight Northwest 2B/1B League games, starting with a Mar. 22 home game against La Conner.
Saturday’s battle royal on the frozen tundra started as a pitcher’s duel, with the teams swapping scoreless frames for three innings.
Hilborn was never in trouble on the mound in the early going, piling up four of his six strikeouts and keeping North Mason’s hitters guessing.
Meanwhile, Coupeville’s sluggers were getting on base, but the Wolves couldn’t find that one crucial hit to break things open.
Hilborn whacked a single to dead center, followed by a walk to Jonathan Valenzuela in the bottom of the first, but both were left stranded.
It was the same for Chase Anderson, who singled in the second, and Hilborn, who walked in the third.
But then, even as the wind stiffened, both teams started poking balls through the gusts, combining for 12 runs across the final four innings.
North Mason struck first, using a string of hits to plate three runners in the top of the fourth.
The damage could have been worse, but Coupeville recovered nicely on an aborted pickoff play at third base, with Valenzuela and Hilborn teaming up to nail a runner flying in from second.
Blowing desperately on their frozen fingers between at-bats, the Wolves finally clicked into a groove in their own half of the fourth, tying the game back up thanks to some timely hits.
And a little luck.
North Mason’s pitcher committed two errors, with one ball taking a nasty hop off of a divot in the infield, while a popup caught a gust of wind and fell the opposite direction of where the waiting mitt was.
In between those weather-induced miscues, Anderson laid down a bunt which started fair, headed foul, then shot back fair at the last moment thanks to Mother Nature blowin’ like a madwoman.
Key to the play was Anderson flying down the baseline, and not waiting around to see where the ball ended up — exactly the way every coach preaches.
Eighth grader Chase Anderson has been a high school varsity starter, and major contributor, since day one.
With the bags full and two outs on the board, Coupeville got one runner home on a wild pitch, then brought two more across thanks to RBI singles from Jack Porter and Sage Sharp.
Not content to stop there, the squads tossed another three runs into the mix in the fifth inning.
North Mason pushed across a go-ahead score in the top half, before CHS came right back with a two-spot to reclaim the advantage at 5-4.
Cody Roberts eked out a walk, followed by Anderson reaching on an error, with the former coming around to tap home on a delayed double-steal and the latter scoring off a Cole White RBI groundout.
Jack Porter almost upped the ante, but his two-out smash back up the middle with runners at second and third was speared by the North Mason pitcher, who went to his knees on the play.
Neither team could score in the sixth, though Anderson came within a whisker of making the magic happen.
With two runners aboard, he launched a cannon shot to left, only to see the wind knock the ball down, allowing a fielder to track it down for the third out.
The scene was set for an emotional Wolf win, with the hometown team pulling out the victory and making their fans forget the day’s brutal weather.
Not every game gets the fairytale ending, however, and North Mason, a strong squad, found one final rally in its bats, dumping three runs on the board in the top of the seventh.
With everyone in attendance praying for three runs and the win, and not just two — which would have sent us to extra innings and an extended stay in Siberia — Coupeville came close to making it a reality.
Cole Hutchinson swatted an infield single, bustin’ his butt to first to beat the throw, before Zane Oldenstadt punched a note-perfect base-knock which dropped in front of the right fielder.
Down to their final out, the Wolves loaded the bases when Sharp drew a walk, bringing Coupeville’s most-dangerous hitter to the plate.
Hilborn gave the ball a ride, first in one direction, then the other, but ultimately couldn’t hit pay dirt this time around.
The junior still paced the Wolves, reaching base three times Saturday, once on a hit and twice on walks.
He was joined on the hit parade by Oldenstadt, Hutchinson, Roberts, Sharp, Jack Porter, and Anderson, who was credited with two base-knocks.
Valenzuela, Roberts, Sharp, and Hutchinson also walked, with Hutchinson getting big yelps from the bench after he wore a pitch, taking the wayward ball off his foot.
Alex Murdy and Johnny Porter rounded out the Wolf lineup on the day.
Johnny Porter makes contact.
Coupeville Sports 