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Top of the league!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 31, 2016| Leave a Comment »

With a 9-0 win over Port Townsend Thursday, Joey Lippo and Coupeville are in first place in the 1A Olympic League. (John Fisken photo)

   With a 9-0 win over Port Townsend Thursday, Joey Lippo and Coupeville are in first place in the 1A Olympic League. (John Fisken photo)

This is how you break a losing streak.

Hot bats. A torrid pitching performance. Contributions from the top of the lineup to the bottom.

Riding a 13-strikeout complete-game performance from senior hurler CJ Smith, the Coupeville High School baseball squad rediscovered its winning ways Thursday afternoon.

Playing under a blazing sun on the prairie, the Wolves routed visiting Port Townsend 9-0 to snap a four-game skid and claim, at least for the moment, sole possession of first place in the 1A Olympic League.

Coupeville is 3-5 overall, 1-0 in league play and will have three non-league games (all on the road) before they face off with another league foe.

That won’t be until Apr. 14, when the Wolves travel to Chimacum.

Up first are con-conference games at South Whidbey, La Conner and Blaine, with the all-Island showdown coming Saturday in Langley.

JV kicks off a doubleheader at 10, with varsity set for noon.

Facing off with the RedHawks Thursday, Coupeville came out guns blazing.

CJ Smith retired the side in order in four of seven innings, scattering just a pair of hits while getting almost two-thirds of his outs via the punch-out.

The Wolves broke the game open in the bottom of the third, sending their first four hitters in the inning (Matt Hilborn, Hunter Smith, CJ Smith and Cole Payne) across the plate.

The first two scored on Port Townsend errors, while the latter two were knocked in by a blow from first baseman Kory Score.

CHS added three in the fifth and another two in the sixth — Hilborn, Cameron Toomey-Stout and Nick Etzell all chipped in with RBIs — getting something from everyone in a shuffled lineup.

“Everybody had great at-bats,” said Coupeville coach Marc Aparicio. “We switched it up and slid some guys in off the bench and were able to get some different looks.

“Port Townsend is a very solid team, but we really got a lot out of the bottom of our lineup today.”

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Rally hats denied!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 29, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Dane Lucero

   Dane Lucero, seen here in an earlier game, combined with Hunter Smith for a strong outing on the mound Tuesday. (John Fisken photo)

One more hit.

That was about all that came between the Coupeville High School baseball squad and a comeback win Tuesday.

Playing on the road at Lynden Christian, the Wolves rallied to score four in the top of the seventh, but left the bags juiced and headed home with an 8-6 loss.

The non-conference defeat dropped CHS to 2-5 heading into the first 1A Olympic League game of the season.

That comes Thursday, when the Wolves play host to Port Townsend (0-5) in the only home contest Coupeville will have in a seven-game span.

Facing off with the Lyncs (3-5), Coupeville shot itself in the foot repeatedly in the early going.

Five errors and several bobbled balls in the outfield conspired to wreck the Wolves, who fell behind 8-2 despite strong work on the mound from sophomore Hunter Smith and freshman Dane Lucero.

“We struggled on defense,” said an understated Coupeville coach Marc Aparicio.

It wasn’t all bad, though, as first baseman Kory Score triggered a pair of double plays that came a hair away from being triple plays.

He also knocked in a run in his varsity debut.

Aparicio singled out the stellar defensive work of catcher Cole Payne, who kept Lynden Christian in check, gunning out a runner at second while narrowly missing on a second throw.

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Rollin’ on the road!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 28, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Nick Etzell (John Fisken photo)

   Nick Etzell teamed with Ty Eck to toss a five-inning no-hitter Monday, propelling Coupeville High School JV baseball to a 12-1 win. (John Fisken photo)

Cameron Toomey-Stout, seen here in an earlier varsity game, crunched one of Coupeville's four extra-base hits Monday.

   Cameron Toomey-Stout, seen here in an earlier varsity game, crunched one of Coupeville’s four extra-base hits.

Just give them a chance.

Finally able to take the field for the first time this season Monday, the Coupeville High School JV baseball squad came out on fire.

Raining down nine hits, including four extra-base knocks, the Wolves romped to a 12-1 win in Concrete.

And it wasn’t just the bats that were hot, as freshman Ty Eck and sophomore Nick Etzell combined to toss a five-inning no-hitter, while the glove work behind them was nearly impeccable.

The Wolves were locked in on arrival, raining down runs early and often.

Matt Hilborn, Cameron Toomey-Stout, Kory Score and Etzell all whacked extra-base hits as Coupeville scored nine in the first three innings, then coasted home for the victory.

“A good start,” said Coupeville coach Chris Smith. “The bats were electric and we had error-free defense behind the pitchers.”

Eck got the start on the mound and struck out five of the nine hitters he faced in three perfect innings of work.

Etzell retired six of the seven Lions he saw — losing one on a walk —  and notched another strike-out.

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A winner for all seasons!!

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Happy birthday, tagged , , , , on March 28, 2016| Leave a Comment »

The many moods of Ben Olson.

The many moods of Ben Olson.

Not so very long from now, we’re going to reach a point in time when we’ll start to talk about video stores, and kids will be like, “Huh, what?”

Doesn’t matter that I spent 15 years being well paid to goof off in them, and that they are a key part of my life.

As Netflix, streaming, and downloads, legal and otherwise, eventually erase all memories of Videoville, David’s DVD Den and (gag me) Blockbuster, a new generation will be culturally bereft.

So, it’s a good thing we’ll still have folks like Ben Olson to hold on to a few of those memories.

The young Mr. Olson, who celebrates a birthday today, grew up in those video store aisles before going on to become a basketball and baseball player at Coupeville High School.

Ben and lil’ bro Daniel, now a middle school hoops star, were regular fixtures at both video stores I worked at, and both usually spent more time behind the counter than in front of it.

Which worked out nicely for me.

Need to collect a late fee? Always easier to do with the rock-em-sock-em Olson boys as my backup.

With Daniel on the computer and Ben on the till, I had even less work to do than normal, which, if you know anything about me, was just fine and dandy.

Once the second video store closed, we parted paths for a bit as I headed out to slave away on the prairie.

But when I came back to the world of school sports coverage, there they were, a little older, a lot taller (especially Ben) and still just as outgoing and friendly.

It’s been nice to see them still following the path of success they were already on years earlier.

While injuries have hampered Ben’s ability to dominate the court lately, he’s slid into working as a coach with Daniel’s SWISH basketball team and seems born to the job.

As he celebrates his cake day today, Olson remains one of the best CHS has to offer, a bright, adventurous dude with huge potential.

So happy birthday, Ben.

The video stores may be gone, but it’s always nice to see our alumni, official or unofficial, continuing to light up the world.

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Someone wake up the bats!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on March 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

CJ Smith, here making a thrown in an earlier game, whiffed nine on the hill Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

   CJ Smith, here making a throw in an earlier game, whiffed nine on the hill Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

They had their chances.

Looking to snap out of a recent offensive funk, the Coupeville High School baseball squad put runners on base Saturday.

Unfortunately, that’s where they left most of them, victim to double plays and stranded runner syndrome.

Unable to muster an offense to match pitcher CJ Smith’s performance on the mound, the Wolves fell 3-1 in a non-conference game at Friday Harbor.

After scoring 27 runs in its first three games, Coupeville has now been stuck on a single run for three straight contests.

Not surprisingly, the Wolves have lost all three of the low-scoring affairs, falling to 2-4 on the season.

They’ll get three chances to fix things next week, when they travel to Lynden Christian Tuesday, host Port Townsend Thursday and skip down the Island to visit South Whidbey Saturday, Apr. 2.

The middle match-up will be the 1A Olympic League opener for both the Wolves and RedHawks (0-4).

Facing off with the host Wolverines (3-0), Coupeville got stellar work from Smith.

The senior hurler whiffed nine batters while tossing a complete game.

“CJ pitched a great game,” said CHS coach Marc Aparicio. “Unfortunately we just couldn’t make the runs work this game.

“We were caught in three double plays and left runners on in scoring position three times. One time with bases loaded,” he added. “Friday Harbor played a good game. Not much more to say.”

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