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Cole Payne (Sylvia Hurlburt photos)

   Your 2016 1A Olympic League baseball MVP — Coupeville catcher Cole Payne. (Sylvia Hurlburt photo)

Cole Payne is going out on top.

The Coupeville High School senior, who fought through injury to lead the Wolves to their first baseball league title in 25 years this spring, was tabbed as the MVP of the 1A Olympic League in coach’s voting.

Payne is the second CHS athlete to win top honors in the league, following in the footsteps of two-time girls’ basketball MVP Makana Stone.

A force both at the plate as a hitter and behind it as a catcher, Payne topped a 13-man All-League team released Monday afternoon.

Joining him as First-Team All-League players were senior pitcher CJ Smith, sophomore pitcher Hunter Smith and freshman third baseman Matt Hilborn.

The team features seven seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.

Coupeville also received the award for best coaching staff, while Port Townsend took home the sportsmanship award.

The complete All-League team:

Cole Payne (C) Coupeville
George Harris (Inf) Klahowya
Henry Lovekamp (Inf) Chimacum
Matt Hillborn (Inf) Coupeville
Hayden Trull (Inf) Klahowya
Jakob Wittig (C) Klahowya
Berkley Hill (Utility) Port Townsend
Dylan Zuber (OF) Klahowya
Troy Porter (OF) Klahowya
Logan Shaw (OF) Chimacum
CJ Smith (P) Coupeville
Nate Hough (P) Klahowya
Hunter Smith (P) Coupeville

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Coupeville -- where strikeout kings are born and bred. (David Svien photos)

Coupeville — where strikeout kings are born and bred. (David Svien photo)

Someday I will learn to stop speaking in absolutes.

Some day…

Piecing together the sports history of Coupeville is a hit-and-miss adventure, with a little nugget of info around every corner, but often buried under a pile of dust.

This morning, I felt pretty confident hailing Ray Cook as being the greatest strikeout pitcher in CHS history.

As I pointed out, he dropped 21 K’s over 13 innings in 1976 on the afternoon he won the district championship game and sent the Wolves to state.

Impressive, in every way.

But not the record, it turns out.

Yep, as unlikely as it is, there’s actually at least one other Wolf hurler out there who bettered Cook in both innings tossed and strikeouts notched.

I turn you over to my favorite pen pal, legendary former CHS coach/teacher Bob Barker, as he drops some knowledge about a pitcher from the Class of 1965:

David,

I happened to tune into your Coupeville Sports this morning and noticed your nice write up on Raymond Cook

Under then head baseball coach Jim Hosek, Coupeville High School had some very fine baseball teams and one of the reasons was a young hurler by the name of Raymond Cook

I have watched Ray pitch on many occasions and he was a top notch pitcher; however, he does not hold the Coupeville High School record for strikeouts in a single game.

As I mentioned to you earlier, I coached baseball at Coupeville High School for five years. 

I did not keep the baseball score-book for the particular game that I am going to relate to you and in retrospect I am sorry for that mistake, but it is a game that I will never forget.

The year before I quit coaching baseball, I had a young man by the name of Bob Rea.

I had started Bob out in pitching as he had such a competitive nature, much like the competitive nature of Ray Cook.

Bob had a blazing fastball and also had developed a sharp curve.

In the game I refer to we had traveled to Darrington.

Darrington also had a very good pitcher of whose name I am unable to remember at this time. 

At the end of seven innings the score was tied at 1-1. We continued into extra innings and eventually won the game 2-1 in 16 innings.

The amazing thing about this game was that both pitchers went the whole 16 innings.

The Darrington pitcher had recorded 30 strikeouts while our pitcher, Bob Rea, had recorded 27 strikeouts.

Another particular I remember about that game was that in our half of the 16th inning we had a man on base.

Our batter at the plate had a count of 3-0 so I gave him the take sign.

Either he missed the sign or the pitch was too inviting as he hit a double and drove in the winning run.

So much for coaching strategy.

Bob Barker

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Ben Etzell is congratulated by coach Willie Smith and catcher Jake Tumblin during his CHS days. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

   Ben Etzell is congratulated by coach Willie Smith and catcher Jake Tumblin during his CHS days. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Etzell delivers the high, hard cheese. (Libby Auger photo)

Etzell delivers the high, hard cheese. (Libby Auger photo)

Icing the arm after his first complete game win. (Photo courtesy Ben Etzell)

Icing the arm after his first complete game win. (Photo courtesy Ben Etzell)

Wisconsin may be on Central time, but Friday morning they called it Etzell time.

Powered by a complete game from starting pitcher Ben Etzell, the Saint John’s University baseball squad drilled North Central College 8-2 to set a school single-season record for wins and stay alive in the NCAA D-III playoffs.

With their second win in three NCAA tourney games, the Johnnies improved to 30-13 and advance to play again Friday night.

Saint John’s, which is playing in the La Crosse regional, beat St. Scholastica 7-2 Wednesday, then fell 10-0 to Wisconsin-La Crosse, the defending D-III runner-ups, Thursday.

Friday morning, playing in an elimination game, the Johnnies put Etzell, a Coupeville High School grad, on the hill, and he responded with the first complete game of his collegiate career.

Scattering nine hits, he whiffed five and was rarely in danger as he improved to 4-1 on the season.

The 30th win broke a tie with the 1994 and 2012 squads, which had each won 29 games.

Etzell is a sophomore at the Minnesota-based college, and is following in the footsteps of dad Mike, who is an alumnus.

During his time at CHS, the young gun was the Cascade Conference MVP as a senior.

He was the only Wolf to win that honor in any sport during Coupeville’s decade-plus run in the private school-dominated 1A/2A league.

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Emily Burchfield is joined by Zane Bundy (top right, the '91 CHS baseball squad and Abraham Leyva.

   Hall o’ Fame inductee Emily Burchfield is joined by Zane Bundy (top right), the ’91 CHS baseball squad and Abraham Leyva.

Perseverance. Class. Skill.

Pick your adjective and they all describe the athletes who make up the 47th class to be inducted into the Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Fame.

Possibly the two most dynamic booters in school history, a two-sport star who overcame a horrifying injury to excel and one of the best teams in Wolf lore, it’s as solid a bunch as they come.

With that, we welcome Emily Burchfield, Zane Bundy, Abraham Leyva and the 1991 Coupeville High School baseball squad to these hallowed digital walls.

After this, you’ll find them up at the top of the blog, living under the Legends tab with their brethren.

Our first inductee, the world-traveling, brilliant Burchfield, was a star on the soccer pitch and tennis court during her time at CHS.

She was also a superb triathlon competitor, and it was at one of those events where she was hit by a speeding car, shattering her back.

Burchfield amazed the doctors and all around her by not only fighting back in record time, but healing to the extent she was able to return to the hard-court and win a district singles title.

One of the most purely talented players to rep the red and black, Emily was also one of the strongest-willed, and her skills, on and off the athletic stage, are undeniable.

These days the former Science Olympiad world-beater is a college grad who is boppin’ around the globe, but her legend still looms large in the little town she sprang from.

Our next two inductees are about to go out and make their mark on the outside world, and it’s appropriate they go into the Hall together.

Bundy and Leyva, who will graduate in June, grew up on the soccer pitch, uniting to form the most potent scoring duo in CHS boys’ soccer history.

In his three years as a Wolf, Leyva set the regular season (20) and career (45) goal-scoring records, with a ton of those set up by his running mate.

Bundy, who had to battle back through injury, was equally explosive when he had the ball on his foot, and that carried over to the football field.

Playing for the first time as a senior, the little kid who once ran wild in the aisles at Videoville, led the Wolf gridiron squad in scoring this past fall.

He was one of the top field goal booters in the state, and his booming drives drew the eyes of college coaches.

In an unexpected detour, it’s football, not soccer, which Bundy will play at the next level, having signed with Santa Barbara City College.

Rounding out today’s class is the 1991 Wolf baseball squad, a team which won a league title, breaking a decade-long dry spell for the program.

Little did they know at the time it would then be 25 more years before Coupeville would again hoist a league title banner for baseball, a feat finally accomplished by the 2016 edition.

The ’91 squad, which featured several players who were key parts of the ’90 Wolf football squad which went undefeated, went on a rampage both with the bats and the arms.

Staff ace Brad Haslam tossed a no-hitter and recorded double digits in strike outs in two-thirds of his starts, while the Wolves rolled up a 145-79 advantage in runs scored over 19 games.

Four different CHS big boppers (Haslam, Frank Marti, Jason McFadyen and Matt Cross) hit legitimate home runs, as Coupeville featured a lineup that thrived on extra-base hits.

Carving up the Northwest B League to a 9-1 tune, the Wolves went 13-6, rolling along until hitting an unexpected bump in their opening playoff game.

One out away from a win over Winlock, Coupeville couldn’t put the game away, surrendering a lead in the seventh before eventually falling 16-13 in 10 innings.

While the loss put a sour taste in a lot of mouths at the time, the achievements of that Wolf team far overshadow a bad inning or two 25 years down the road.

One of the most dominant teams in school history, in any sport, the ’91 hardball squad officially comes home to reside where they have always belonged — the Hall o’ Fame.

Inducted as a team:

Mike Rice (coach)
Cory Smith
(manager)
Eric Anderson
Shawn Ankney
Brian Barr
Troy Blouin
Todd Brown
Chris Cox
Jon Crimmins
Matt Cross
Keith Currier
Chris Frey
Brad Haslam
Frank Marti
Jason McFadyen
Jason McManigle
Jeremiah Prater
Jay Renaux
Ryan Samplawski
John Turner
Aaron Williams
Scott Wofford
Brian Wood
Scott Zustiak

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Ben Etzell (Photo property of Saint John's University baseball)

   Former Cascade Conference MVP turned college hurler Ben Etzell. (Photo property of Saint John’s University baseball)

Big Ben came up big time in the spotlight.

Coupeville High School grad Ben Etzell got the start and the win Saturday as the Saint John’s University baseball squad crushed Saint Mary’s 11-4 to win its second consecutive Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament title.

The Johnnies, now 28-12 on the season, advance to the NCAA D-III tourney May 18-21.

It’s the fifth time in school history they’ve punched their ticket to the big dance.

Etzell, a sophomore, got the ball and went 5.1 innings Saturday, striking out three and scattering nine hits.

With a little help from freshman reliever Jake Dickmeyer, who closed out the game for his first college save, Etzell improved to 3-1.

He’s struck out 36 batters over 41.2 innings of work this season, after going 1-0 with two saves as a freshman.

The Johnnies gave their hurler a lot of support Saturday, rapping out 13 hits and taking advantage of five Saint Mary’s errors.

Last year Saint John’s had to come back through the losers bracket to win the MIAC tourney, while this year they took the easier route, sweeping all three games they played.

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