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Wolves wrap season at big dance!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on July 13, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Chelsea Prescott and her Coupeville Babe Ruth teammates capped a successful season with a run to the state tourney. (John Fisken photo)

No trip to Canada this year.

Back-to-back losses the past two days eliminated the Coupeville Babe Ruth baseball squad from the state tournament in Ephrata, leaving them a win shy of advancing to regionals in Calgary, Alberta.

The Wolves fell 17-12 to Othello in Wednesday’s opener, then were knocked out 12-2 Thursday by Moses Lake.

“It was a fun experience,” Coupeville coach Steve Hilborn said. “But it would have been nice to have a better showing.”

Othello:

The Wolves jumped out to an 8-0 lead by the third inning, then hit a severe rough stretch, giving up 17 unanswered runs.

Errors in crucial situations killed Coupeville, with Othello salting the game away with an eight-run sixth inning

Down 17-8, the Wolves rallied to scratch out four runs in the bottom half of the inning, but that was the end of the trail for any comebacks.

Moses Lake:

With a 10 AM start time, Coupeville had hopes of catching their Eastern Washington foes while they were down.

Moses Lake didn’t finish its Wednesday game against Sedro-Woolley until 12:30 AM Thursday, making for a short turnaround.

“We were hoping they’d be too tired to play, but they figured it out,” Hilborn said. “We left 11 guys on base in the first four innings. Couldn’t get runs across.

“It was a walk-fest on both sides. Neither pitcher could figure out the ump’s strike zone.”

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Coupeville ace heads to state tourney!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on July 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville’s Nathan Ginnings closes out a win Sunday, sending North Whidbey Little League to the state tourney. (Contributed photos)

Ginnings gets ready to rip.

The uniform says North Whidbey Little League, but it was a Central Whidbey mercenary who got the final out.

Coupeville’s Nathan Ginnings slammed the door on Anacortes Sunday, striking out the final hitter in a 12-2 win that punches a ticket to the state tourney.

Oak Harbor’s 11/12 baseball squad (and its Coupeville star) head to Federal Way for the big dance.

NWLL has a first-round bye, then opens play Sunday, July 16.

Playing at South Whidbey in the District 11 championship, North Whidbey needed just one win to claim the title, while Anacortes would have needed a doubleheader sweep.

Oak Harbor’s sluggers, with Ginnings playing most of the game at third base, put things away early, torching Anacortes for eight runs in the third inning.

Ginnings, who played for NWLL since Central Whidbey couldn’t get enough players to field a full squad this season, reached base on an error and a fielder’s choice and scored a run.

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A Wynn-er all the way!!

Posted in Hall o' Fame, tagged , , , , , , on July 8, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Gabe Wynn charges off the court and into the Hall o’ Fame. (John Fisken photos)

“I … crushed it.”

Some players make you smile.

Gabe Wynn is one of those.

For the past five years, from the first time I saw him playing 8th grade basketball, on through his graduation this spring, he was one of the most reliably entertaining guys in town.

Didn’t matter the sport — football, tennis, basketball or baseball — Wynn, the son of former OHHS hoops legend Robyn (Seth) Myers, enjoyed every moment he was playing.

It’s that spirit, along with his skills and stats, which lifts him up and today, deposits him at the doorway of the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

So let’s swing those doors wide and welcome him to these hallowed digital halls.

After this, while his physical body will be leaving Whidbey for college at some point, his memory will live on, enshrined at the top of the blog under the Legends tab.

Gabe exits holding the school record for most three-point shots made in a basketball game, swishing seven in a ferocious fight with league champ Port Townsend.

He played varsity basketball all four years, making his debut as a raw frosh and exiting as a sage senior, and, along the way, he sparkled at a whole lot of other sports as well.

Wynn was a big hitter on the football field, a fireball on the tennis court and a scrapper on the diamond, willing to sacrifice his body for the good of the team game in and game out.

But it’s basketball where his legacy will be the most enduring.

Over the course of his high school career, Gabe showed a mix of big-time play and quiet, committed hustle.

He’s part of a select group of Wolf hoops stars who scored points at the varsity level in all four of their seasons, and raised his scoring total each season.

Helping lead a painfully young, inexperienced team through his senior campaign, Wynn became a go-to scorer, raining down treys from behind the arc, while retaining an ability to fight for buckets in the paint.

Along with the points, the rebounds and the steals, Gabe set himself apart with his grit and hustle.

And also, and this is a huge thing, with his willingness to get up every time he was sent to the floor, or sent a rival to the floor, and deliver a quick word, or just a butt-slap and a nod, to let the other player know it’s not personal, it’s the game.

Playing against Stevenson, a school which traveled 525 miles, round trip, to fill out its schedule with a non-conference game, Wynn made sure the visitors would never forget him.

Sparking a 64-60 Wolf victory, he exploded his own bench, sending chairs and teammates flying during a wild scramble for a loose ball.

Not content to stop there, he then did a full somersault over a Stevenson player’s shoulder while latched onto a rebound that both players badly wanted.

When Wynn hit the floor, the resulting sound was a mix of a cannon shot and a watermelon hitting the ground after being dropped from a skyscraper.

But he got the jump-ball call he wanted, and staggered back to his feet, checking on the condition of the rival player first before gently massaging his own head.

It was vintage Gabe in every way — not giving up, no matter the cost, but always mindful of those around him.

Off the court, on the court, he was the same quality dude every step of the way.

Stats are important, and Wynn piled up some nice stats, but character matters more, and his was A+ all the way.

Which is why inducting him into the Hall o’ Fame is such an easy call.

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Have bat, will travel!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , on July 6, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   With no Coupeville team to call his own, one of Cow Town’s finest suits up for North Whidbey. (John Fisken photos)

One home run coming up.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

While Central Whidbey Little League had tons of softball teams this spring, it wasn’t able to field full squads in any baseball division other than Minors.

That sent Coupeville sluggers off to find other teams to hook up with, and at least one Cow Town mercenary has landed in the playoffs.

With the 11/12 baseball playoffs kicking off Wednesday, wandering photographer John Fisken was on hand to snap North Whidbey as it faced off with South Whidbey.

At least one guy sporting NWLL’s uni calls Coupeville home, and the photos above pay tribute to him.

His name is Nathan Ginnings, and he’s the younger brother of former Wolf tennis/soccer great Jacki Ginnings.

To see more photos from the game, pop over to:

http://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/NWLL-2017/20170705-Little-League-vs-South-Whidbey/

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Close with a bang!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on July 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Hunter Smith ripped a pinch-hit three-run single Sunday, sparking Coupeville to a tourney-closing win. (John Fisken photo)

Kirk Gibson lives.

Coupeville High School senior Hunter Smith has been battling injuries, and didn’t get a chance to play on a regular basis this weekend at the Grays Harbor 4th of July Bash.

But when his dad, CHS coach Chris Smith, needed him most, Hunter hobbled off the bench Sunday afternoon and produced, delivering a game-busting three-run pinch-hit single to spark the Wolves to a win.

Spurred on by the emotional surge, Coupeville turned a defensive thriller into a rout, rolling to a 10-2 win over NW Timberjack Green.

Coming on the heels of a 6-3 loss in the morning to Washington Rush Elite Blue (in a game called early thanks to the tourney’s two-hour game limit), the Wolves wrapped the three-day tourney at 2-2.

Coupeville saved the best for last, erupting for 10 runs and nine hits in the fourth through seventh innings against Timberjack Green.

One batter into the top of the fourth, the Wolves had been held firmly in check, with 11 of their first 12 batters going back to the dugout unfulfilled.

Joey Lippo changed that, ripping a single, moving to second on a wild pitch, then scooting home on an RBI base-knock from Dane Lucero.

While that cut the deficit to 2-1, the real fireworks were an inning away.

After pitcher Taylor Consford tossed the first of what would be four straight scoreless innings to end the game, Coupeville’s bats struck.

Donny Kloewer and Nick Etzell led off with back-to-back singles, before Jake Hoagland was plunked to juice the bags with no outs.

Sensing a moment at hand, Chris Smith sent his ever-dangerous (even when injured) son to the plate, and Hunter Smith responded, lashing a shot to right-center to plate all three of his teammates.

That opened the floodgates, as the Wolves added two more in the fifth — on a fielder’s choice and a wild pitch — before tacking on two in the sixth and another two in the seventh.

Jacob Zettle had an RBI ground-out, Lucero lofted a sac fly, Etzell smacked an RBI single, and, in a poetic touch, Kyle Rockwell, who Smith had pinch-hit for, came back around to get his own RBI single.

It was a nice way to end the tourney, and a nice bounce-back after an error-strewn morning.

The Wolves were on point defensively in three of four tourney games, but Sunday morning’s rematch with the Rush was the one time their gloves failed.

Eight errors cost them badly in a game in which they were still within 4-3 headed into the bottom of the sixth.

Back-to-back miscues to open the inning set the Rush up, and they had two in and the bags full when the clock ran out on both teams.

To keeps things hopping, tourney officials set a two-hour limit on games, but it cost Whidbey Island fans a chance to see a classic show-down.

Oak Harbor High School senior James Besaw, who plays for the Rush, was stepping to the plate to face Lippo, a longtime friend and baseball buddy, with both of their moms on the edge of their seat.

Instead of getting the payoff — Wildcat vs. Wolf, friend vs. friend — the uncaring locals shafted the Islanders.

Boo, I say. Boo.

Coupeville, which left nine runners on base in the game, had the bags full with one out in the first, then second and third with two outs in the second.

Both times the Rush escaped, first via a 6-4-3 double play, then on an inning-ending strikeout.

The Wolves finally broke through in the third, snatching a 2-1 lead on a two-run single to right from Matt Hilborn which plated Lippo and Clay Reilly.

CHS couldn’t hold on to the lead, though, giving two runs right back in the bottom half of the inning.

After the Rush tacked on a run in the fourth, Coupeville got its final run in the sixth, when Hoagland’s single to left brought Gavin Knoblich around to score.

Over the course of three days and four games, CHS smacked 31 hits.

Etzell led the way with six — with at least one in every game — with Lippo and Reilly collecting four base-knocks apiece.

Hot on their heels was Jake “The Rake” Hoagland with three, while Rockwell, Knoblich, Smith, Kloewer, Lucero, Consford and Hilborn had two apiece.

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