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Dane Lucero

Dane Lucero

Dane Lucero would like to be wearing red on the baseball field for a long time.

The Coupeville High School freshman, who started and whacked an RBI double Monday in the season opener for the Wolves, grew up rooting for another team that heavily features that color on their uniforms.

“I have played baseball since I was six years old,” Lucero, a Missouri native, said. “I started playing because I enjoyed baseball, wanted to play ball with my friends, and I wanted to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.”

He made an immediate impact in his Wolf baseball debut, swinging a big stick for Marc Aparicio’s young squad.

It’s something he hopes to keep doing as the season goes forward.

“I want to drive in as many runs as possible to help my team win and play to my potential in the field and on the mound,” Lucero said.

Also a football player for CHS, he can often be found putting in work in the weight room.

A hard worker all around, Lucero knows that’s the key to building on his early success.

“I’m a solid hitter, pitcher, and fielder, but I can improve those aspects of the game more,” he said. “This includes my speed and athleticism.

“I like the fact that it takes a lot of work to be good at the sport and it’s not a sport you can just pick up a bat and be great at.”

When he’s not playing, Lucero enjoys watching TV, hanging out with friends and exploring his new state. A fan of rap music and comedy and action films, he’s also strong in the classroom.

“I enjoy history, because I like learning about important things that happened a long time ago,” Lucero said.

As he moves forward in his baseball career, the hard-hitting frosh is quick to acknowledge those who have helped him, and continue to do so.

“I am thankful that God gave me the ability to play the game that I love,” Lucero said. “I am also thankful for my coaches and my parents for letting me play travel ball and always getting the coaching that I need to play at the next level.”

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Matt Hilborn (John Fisken photo)

Matt Hilborn (John Fisken photo)

Matt Hilborn wasted little time.

The Coupeville High School freshman stepped right on the field Monday, starting for the Wolf varsity baseball squad and making an immediate impact in the first game of a new season.

Playing in a one-run game against Sultan, he took the mound in the seventh, after previously playing at third, and set the side down one-two-three to give the Wolves a fighting chance.

His success in his high school debut was the continuation of a long run that started when he first played t-ball at age five.

Hilborn’s dad, Steve, a longtime local coach, got Matt started and he’s come to love the diamond game.

“I enjoy defense mostly and pitching, because baseball is the only sport where you start with the ball on defense,” Hilborn said. “I think my strengths are playing middle infield and third, and also pitching.”

A two-sport athlete at CHS (he also played football in the fall, starring for the JV and getting some snaps and a tackle at the varsity level), he enjoys spending time with friends and chooses gym as his favorite class.

For the moment, he’s intently focused on baseball, and wants to continue to improve on the stellar work he put in Monday.

“I would like to work on hitting,” Hilborn said. “My goals for the season are to play varsity and hit/pitch well.”

He credits his extended family for all chipping in to help make him the player he is fast becoming.

“Shout out to my parents for making me the person I am,” Hilborn said. “They have had a big impact on my baseball career.

“Also my cousin Justin and uncle Charlie helped me get better at baseball.”

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Cole Payne (John Fisken photos)

   Senior catcher Cole Payne is a rock behind the plate for the Wolves. (John Fisken photos)

Matt Hilborn

Freshman Matt Hilborn tossed a perfect seventh in his high school debut.

First games are tricky things.

When you’re a brand new coach stepping on the field for the first time, you can never fully know what to expect.

Jim Waller, currently the Sports Editor at the Whidbey News-Times, got ten-runned during his first game at the helm of the Oak Harbor High School baseball squad.

30 years, 300+ wins and one induction into the Washington State High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame later, and he recovered quite nicely.

Still, he remembers that game like it was yesterday.

Will the same hold true for Marc Aparicio?

Only time will tell.

The Coupeville High School grad, who once starred on the diamond for the Wolves, made his official debut Monday as their new head coach.

Like Waller, he took a loss, but this one was a tense one-run affair that ended with the tying run just 90 feet away.

Unfortunately for Aparicio and Coupeville, even though they got Joey Lippo to third with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, they couldn’t bring him home, letting Sultan slide away with a 6-5 non-conference win on Opening Day.

Fielding a very young squad — the Wolves had three freshmen and three sophomores in the starting lineup — CHS still came out aggressively.

Cole Payne, one of only two senior starters, knocked in sophomore Hunter Smith in the first to stake Coupeville to a 1-0 lead.

After falling behind 2-1, the Wolves rebounded with their best effort in the third, plating four base-runners, with the big hit, a double, coming from freshman Dane Lucero.

Coupeville couldn’t hold the lead, though, giving up three in the fourth to tie things up, then surrendering a go-ahead run in the fifth.

The Wolves made a bid to send the game into extra innings with a strong final inning.

After freshman reliever Matt Hilborn retired the side one-two-three in his debut, Lippo led off the bottom half of the seventh with a shot that was bobbled by a Turk defender.

Eventually perched on third, he was stranded, however, as Sultan’s hurler closed the game with a pair of strikeouts packaged around a come-backer.

While his squad lost, Aparicio came away largely happy with what he saw in his first go-around.

“We had a couple of errors in the beginning but recovered well,” he said. “I thought we got strong pitching from CJ (Smith), Hunter and Hilborn.

“My philosophy is to have us be aggressive on the bases and we were,” he added. “We missed a few signals, but we’ll work on that.”

Coupeville will hop right back into the thick of things with a home-and-away non-conference series against Concrete. Wednesday’s game (4:15 PM) is on Whidbey, followed by a road trip Friday.

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Kyle Rockwell (John Fisken photo)

Kyle Rockwell (John Fisken photo)

The little brother is taking his place in the spotlight.

Coupeville High School sophomore Kyle Rockwell is swinging into action with the Wolf baseball squad this spring, following in the footsteps of sister Maria, who was a standout softball player during her time at CHS.

For Kyle, it’s the continuation of a life-long journey.

“I have played baseball since T-ball,” Rockwell said. “I started playing because I wanted to play baseball like my dad.”

Both mom Tina and dad Sheldon have played a sizable role in helping to shape their son’s development, on and off the field.

“My dad has had a big impact on my life because he made me who I am today and taught me how to play baseball when I was little,” Rockwell said.

As he enters his second season at the high school level, his goals are simple and straight forward.

“I want to get better and make it onto varsity,” Rockwell said. “My strengths are hitting and playing first base.

“I would like to work on throwing faster and longer distances.”

Away from the diamond he focuses on getting good grades, with an eye on going to college after graduation.

For now, though, baseball is what captivates his attention.

As he and his teammates prepare to kick off the season with a jamboree in Oak Harbor Saturday, Rockwell draws inspiration from a quote delivered by CHS coach Chris Smith.

“I like baseball because it is one of the only sports that starts with the ball when they are on defense.”

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Sylvia Hurlburt (John Fisken photos)

   Track titan Sylvia Hurlburt is super-psyched to go run in the cold rain and wind. (John Fisken photos)

Wolf seniors (l to r) CJ Smith, Cole Payne and Brenden Gilbert

   Wolf seniors (left to right) CJ Smith, Cole Payne and Brenden Gilbert spend some time bonding on picture day.

Spring is here.

Well, maybe not weather wise, but the Coupeville High School sports calendar says it’s almost time to pretend otherwise.

All five Wolf teams will kick off their season within the next week, and all here on the Island.

Boys’ soccer is up first, followed quickly (weather permitting) by softball and baseball, then girls’ tennis and, finally, track and field.

The CHS booters will host a jamboree at Mickey Clark Field this Friday (3 PM), with South Whidbey, Skyline and Lake Stevens in attendance, while Wolf baseball heads to Oak Harbor High School Saturday for its own taste of jamboree life.

The diamond men will play three-inning games against South Whidbey (12:30) and Oak Harbor (2 PM).

That same day, the Wolf softball squad is scheduled to be the first to play a real, full game, hosting South Whidbey (12 PM) in a non-conference tilt.

Wrapping up the openers for each Coupeville squad, tennis hosts Granite Falls (3:30 PM) Monday, Mar. 14 and track travels to Oak Harbor (3:30 PM) Thursday, Mar. 17 for the Island Jamboree.

And somewhere Mother Nature just laughs and laughs.

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