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Posts Tagged ‘Amber Bumbalough’

Never lose faith!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Robin Cedillo made a sparkling catch while patrolling the outfield Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)

   Robin Cedillo made a sparkling catch while patrolling the outfield Wednesday. (John Fisken photo)

There are peaks and valleys in almost every season.

For the Coupeville High School softball squad, they are most definitely wandering in the latter right now.

Which means it’s very likely there’s another peak right ahead. You just have to stay positive.

After absorbing a 9-1 loss at Klahowya Wednesday, the Wolves, who started the season with six wins in seven games, have now suffered the exact reverse.

They sit at 7-7 overall and 2-4 in the 1A Olympic League, which puts them squarely in third-place in the four-team league.

Defending champ Chimacum (5-0, 9-4) is in control, at least for the moment, while Klahowya (3-1, 8-5) is still looking to unseat the Cowboys.

Port Townsend (0-5, 0-10), which has a 32-game losing streak which officially hits two years Thursday, brings up the rear.

The loss to Klahowya eliminates Coupeville from any chance of winning the league title, but it remains in play for second-place, though, admittedly, faces an uphill battle.

First, the Wolves need to regroup and focus on beating Port Townsend at home Friday.

Finish off the season sweep (they captured the first two meetings 19-4 and 24-6), and CHS clinches a playoff berth.

Facing the Eagles Wednesday, Coupeville showed improvement in trying to deal with Klahowya hurler Amber Bumbalough, the reigning league MVP.

“The bats did better today,” said CHS coach Kevin McGranahan. “We just couldn’t get the big hits to drive in the runs.”

Coupeville notched its lone run in the top of the second, when Jae LeVine rapped a sharp single to right to plate Sarah Wright, who had opened the inning with a walk.

Making her first career start in the pitcher’s circle, Wright, a freshman, went the distance for the Wolves, whiffing two.

“She did a good job and the defense played well behind her,” McGranahan said. “The girls played upbeat today and again never hung their heads and fought to the end.”

Tamika Nastali and Robin Cedillo came up huge in the outfield with “great catches” to spark the defense.

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Win some, lose some, always keep fighting!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 19, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Mikayla Elfrank crushed an epic double and made several sparkling defensive plays at short Tuesday. (John Fisken photo)

   Mikayla Elfrank crushed an epic double and made several sparkling defensive plays at short Tuesday. (John Fisken photo)

It’s a learning process.

Fielding a team without a single senior, with almost all of its key players freshmen or sophomores, the Coupeville High School softball squad is still very much a work in progress.

The early days of the season were a heady time, as the rally caps came out often en route to a 6-1 start.

Now, after taking a 7-1 loss at home to Klahowya Tuesday, the team’s third straight defeat, the Wolves are experiencing the bumps in the road.

The loss dropped Coupeville to 6-4 overall, 1-2 in league play and the Wolves slid into third-place in the 1A Olympic League standings.

Defending champ Chimacum (2-0, 6-4) sits on top, with Klahowya (1-0, 6-4) and Port Townsend (0-2, 0-6) sandwiched around Coupeville.

The Wolves, though, will have a strong opportunity to get back to their winnings ways, as they travel to Port Townsend Thursday, where they will try and add to the RedHawks two-year, 29-game losing streak.

If nothing else, the hits should come easier than they did Tuesday.

Klahowya hurler Amber Bumbalough, who was named the league MVP as a freshman, is continuing to roll in her second season of high school ball, and she was scorching as usual.

Coupeville, a fairly strong-hitting team, couldn’t get a base knock off of her until the fifth inning, when Tiffany Briscoe whacked a single to left.

Coming on the heels of a walk to Mikayla Elfrank, that gave the Wolves two on with nobody out, and a familiar pattern seemed to be emerging.

Fall behind early — in this case 4-0, largely on the basis of a three-run triple — then rally right back into the game.

Only, on this day, an alert Klahowya coach sprang from the dugout and got the hit negated on a technicality.

When Briscoe had entered the game, replacing Tamika Nastali in the second inning, CHS coach Kevin McGranahan had forgotten to declare the change to the ump.

So, instead of a single, Coupeville was given an out.

“That’s on me, not Tiffany,” McGranahan said. “She did a great job up there, I just made a mistake. My mistake all the way.”

Coupeville finally got an official hit (or two) off Bumbalough in the sixth, when Lauren Rose lashed a lead-off liner to center field, followed by a gorgeous bunt single off of the bat of Hope Lodell.

“The Surgeon” dropped the ball neatly in front of and to the side of the Klahowya third-baseman, then burned down the base path to beat the throw by half a step.

The Wolves netted their lone run in the inning, with Rose scampering home on a fielder’s choice ground-out by Sarah Wright, but the rally died too quickly for the local fan’s liking.

Klahowya put the game away for good in the seventh, with an RBI triple, followed by a two-run dinger that cleared the fence.

With the game slipping away, Elfrank refused to go down easy.

Capping a solid all-around game, the sophomore sensation crushed a lead-off double in the seventh, pounding the ball about a foot short of a home-run.

Her big blow, combined with several nifty web gems at short, caught her coach’s eye.

“Mikayla played strongly,” McGranahan said. “She was a rock for us; always nice to see.”

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