Julian Welling was a force at the plate and in the field Friday, propelling Coupeville into sole possession of first-place in the Olympic League (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Julian Welling was unstoppable.
A game after being beaned three times, the Coupeville High School senior first-baseman rebounded Friday to slay visiting Port Townsend with both his booming bat and his nimble feet and glove on defense.
Sparked by Welling, the Wolves overcame a viciously cold prairie wind and an umpire with a fairly creative strike zone to topple the pesky RedHawks 3-1.
The win, Coupeville’s third in the past four games, lifts them to 2-0 in Olympic League play, 5-3 overall.
It also gives them sole possession of first-place, a half-game up on Chimacum (1-0).
Defending champ Klahowya (1-2) and Port Townsend (0-2) hold down the bottom slots at the moment.
Friday’s game wasn’t totally what was expected, but a win is a win, especially one that keeps you as the top dog.
Port Townsend entered the day on a 46-game losing streak, dating back to Apr. 9, 2015, but it hung tough, scoring first and leading into the bottom of the third.
The RedHawks scraped out three hits on the afternoon and two of them came in the opening frame.
Toss in a walk and a Wolf dropping a fly ball while on the run, and the visitors exited the inning with a single, solitary run.
Which was kind of huge for Port Townsend, as it’s only the fifth one they’ve scored in as many games this season.
Meanwhile, Coupeville couldn’t get its own offense untracked, alternating between eking out some walks and putting the ball into the air, where it died a swift death in the merciless wind.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the third that the Wolves finally found a way to keep the ball on the ground, and it immediately paid dividends.
With Nick Etzell and Joey Lippo aboard on walks, CHS managed to move them into scoring possession with two outs, then caught a break when a wild pitch sent Etzell scrambling home with the tying run.
The hitter at the plate, one Mr. Welling, then broke his team’s hit-less streak, cranking an RBI single over the bag at third.
While Coupeville’s rally died promptly afterwards, the Wolves had an extra bit of pep in their step with a 2-1 lead, and they shut Port Townsend down the rest of the way.
After tossing three innings and striking out four, Dane Lucero gave way to relief ace Matt Hilborn, who buzzed through four fairly drama-free innings while matching his predecessor’s K-count.
He got a little help, though, with Jake Pease making a running catch in left, snagging the ball as it caressed the laces on top of his shoes.
Then there was Welling, who twice made sensational snags on potentially wayward throws at first, both times recovering to put a tag on the RedHawk runner trying to get by him.
The first one was a nice bang-bang play, while the second was pure artistry, as he had to make the play while down on his knees in the dirt.
“He made two great plays for us on defense, and, in a close ball game, that was huge,” said Coupeville coach Chris Smith.
Welling also tossed another run on the pile, stroking his second RBI single in the fifth.
His rocket back up the middle, which hit the grass hard, bit off a chunk and shot into center, plated Hunter Smith, who smashed a lead-off double to left-center after narrowly missing a home run a pitch before.
Coupeville finished with five hits, with Welling’s pair of singles and Smith’s double being joined by singles off of the bats of Kyle Rockwell and Hilborn.
While it was a bit of a step back after the Wolves had smashed pitching the past couple of games, it was enough to nab a win, and that was what Chris Smith was most interested in seeing.
“Our bats were a little flat today for whatever reason, and we had trouble finding the grass in the middle of the field for awhile,” he said with a small smile. “But we adapted, and did what we needed to do in the situation.
“It’s a nice thing to see that we can go out there and play and adjust to whatever the situation might be.”
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