Dane Lucero picked up Coupeville’s lone RBI in a 3-1 loss Friday. (John Fisken photo)
Oak Harbor’s James Besaw (left) hangs out with Coupeville’s (l to r) Taylor Consford, Jonathan Thurston, Clay Reilly and Joey Lippo. (Teresa Besaw photo)
Razor-thin.
That was the margin between the Coupeville High School baseball squad and its foes Friday night.
Playing in their opening game at the Grays Harbor 4th of July Bash, the Wolves outhit and were slicker on defense than the Washington Rush Blue Elite.
But, in the end, the travel ball squad nipped them in the one category which truly matters, outscoring Coupeville 3-1.
The Wolves return to action Saturday afternoon, when they play the Avengers 17U squad at Olympic Stadium.
The three-day, 12-team tourney, which runs June 30-July 2, moves into bracket play Sunday.
Facing off with the Rush, who have a local connection on their roster in the form of Oak Harbor High School senior James Besaw, Coupeville held a 5-4 advantage in hits and were fairly flawless on defense.
“We played a good error-free game,” said CHS coach Chris Smith. “I was very proud of the way we composed ourselves and competed.”
Wolf hurlers Jonathan Thurston and Joey Lippo combined to keep the Rush at bay most of the evening, with a three-run third inning the only ding in the armor.
Thurston whiffed four in five innings of work before turning the hill over to his teammate.
At the plate, Clay Reilly led the way with a pair of hits while Hunter Smith, Dane Lucero and Nick Etzell added base-knocks.
Lucero picked up an RBI, bringing home Coupeville’s lone run in the top of the fourth.
The Wolves manufactured their score by getting lead-off hitter Taylor Consford on base via an error, followed by hits from Reilly and Lucero.
CHS had scoring opportunities in each of the first three innings, but was unable to seal the deal.
In the first, the Wolves got a two-out single from Reilly, only to see him gunned down on an ensuing steal attempt.
An inning later, Matt Hilborn wore one for the team, getting plunked and scrambling down to first before the sting wore off.
A double play ball erased the threat, however.
Etzell came the closest to scoring until Consford stamped on home, getting all the way around third base in the top of the third.
After stroking a single, the Wolf senior moved to second on a sac bunt from Kyle Rockwell, then made a play for home on a single off the bat of Smith.
The Rush came up strong on D, though, catching Etzell on his way home, with the play set up by a throw from Besaw in right field.
Coupeville’s rivals netted all three of their runs in the bottom of the third, a time period when they garnered three of their four hits on the game.
Besaw lined out to second his first time up, then was hit by a pitch the second time he faced off with Thurston.
In a bit of an oddity, there were two Oak Harbor players on the field, as Besaw’s Wildcat teammate, Donny Kloewer, is playing with Coupeville this summer.
Toss in Consford, a former OHHS player who transferred to CHS and played for the Wolves as a senior this spring, and it was an old school reunion.
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