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Posts Tagged ‘baseball’

The future is now: Tee it up!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged baseball, Central Whidbey Little League, John Fisken photos, little league on May 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »

"Die, die, DIEEEEE!!!! In my defense, there was a spider on the ball and I was saving ya'll..." (John Fisken photos)

“Die, die, DIEEEEE!!!! In my defense, there was a spider on the ball and I was saving you all…” (John Fisken photos)

“You try to run on my arm?!?! Oh, you sad, sad fool…”

Purple Panthers power!

Blue Cheetahs rule!

“You can try moving the fences back. No one keeps me inside the yard!!”

"See, everyone said 'don't put glue in your glove', but nothing is getting by me. Who's the smartest kid on the field now, suckers?"

“See, everyone said ‘don’t put glue on your glove’, but nothing is getting by me. Who’s the smartest kid on the field now, suckers?”

“Don’t leave me hanging, son!!”

“That’s how the Purple Panthers do it!”

Tis the season for strikeouts and grand slams.

Little league action is hopping in Central Whidbey and intrepid photo man John Fisken has been bouncing around, snapping pics as he goes.

The future of Wolf softball and baseball is hard at work, and now you can say you saw them before they became stars.

To see more T-Ball action, pop over to:

http://www.shutterfly.com/progal/album.jsp?aid=768a5498cf35f44d7ae2

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Benny and the champs!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, Ben Etzell, Johnnies, Mariano Rivera, MIAC, NCAA-DIII, Saint John's University on May 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell, during his days as the Wolf ace. (John Fisken photo)

The Johnnies rush Etzell (4) after the last out. (Ryan Coleman photo)

Ben Etzell slammed the door.

A day after his former Coupeville High School baseball teammates had their season end, the one-time Cascade Conference MVP earned the save Sunday as Saint John’s University won the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletics Conference tournament title.

Storming back through the loser’s bracket, the Johnnies became only the second team in 16 years to lose their tourney opener and come back for the title.

To do it, and earn an automatic invitation to the NCAA D-III playoffs, Saint John’s (26-14) had to win twice Sunday at Veterans Field in Minnetonka.

They did just that, toppling Saint Thomas 9-6 in the morning and 5-1 in the afternoon.

With the Johnnies clinging to a 3-1 lead with one out in the eighth inning in the nightcap, Etzell pulled off his best Mariano Rivera.

He induced an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to get out of the inning, then set the Toms down in order in the ninth, with one of the outs coming his favorite way, via the punch-out.

During his freshman year, he has pitched in seven games, including the last three days.

Over 10 innings, Etzell has struck out seven while walking three and is 1-0 with two saves and an ERA of 2.70.

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Heartache on the prairie!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged Aaron Curtin, baseball, Cascade Christian, CHS Wolves, playoffs on May 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Fueled by breakfast burritos, Carson Risner smacked a double in Saturday’s playoff loss. (John Fisken photos)

The game wa sthe final one for Wolf seniors Aaron Trumbull (pictured), Josh Bayne, Kyle Bodamer, Aaron Curtin and Risner.

It was the final game for Wolf seniors Aaron Trumbull (pictured), Josh Bayne, Kyle Bodamer, Aaron Curtin and Risner.

Baseball can be a cruel game.

Only one team walks off the diamond at the end of the year truly happy and the fate of entire seasons can come down to a handful of what seem at the time like relatively minor plays.

For Coupeville High School, its season ended prematurely Saturday on a sun-drenched prairie, as the Wolves fell victim to chance more than visiting Cascade Christian.

The 1-0 district playoff loss hinged on a ball that bounced off a glove, a minor base-running mistake and an inability to get a bunt down.

Take away a fluky run in the top of the first — the Cougars used a walk, a passed ball and a ground-out to move their batter to third, then brought him home when a chopper took a bad bounce and skittered off of Wolf third baseman Julian Welling’s glove — and we’re still playing.

Both pitchers were largely on-point, with Coupeville senior Aaron Curtin scattering just a pair of meaningless singles, and the Wolf defense making some nice plays to atone for the early error.

CHS ended a brief threat in the second when they trapped a Cougar between second and third in a rundown, then Wolf catcher Carson Risner gunned down a potential base stealer in the third.

The only problem is, there wasn’t much room to breathe and Coupeville couldn’t come up with that one big hit it so desperately needed.

Twice the Wolves pounded out doubles — their only two hits on the afternoon — only to watch in silent horror as the runner died a slow death on the base-paths.

The first time came in the bottom of the second, when Risner swatted a shot to right field and out-hustled the throw back in.

Fueled by breakfast burritos mom Jennie Prince fed him pre-game, the senior had some power to his swing.

Pinch runner Joey Lippo moved to third on a ground-out, but never got to touch home, as the Wolves ended the inning with a ground-out that rolled right straight to the Cascade first baseman.

Going Risner slightly better, Clay Reilly smoked a lead-off double down the left field line to kick-start the third and the stands were rockin’.

Unfortunately, the Wolves never came knockin’ at home, as the visiting pitcher bore down and notched back-to-back strike outs.

After a walk to Josh Bayne put two aboard, Cascade Christian closed out the last major Coupeville threat by snagging a liner off of Curtin’s bat.

The Wolves got the lead-off hitter on base in the sixth, but Cole Payne was erased in a double play when he was trapped too far off of first base when Bayne’s liner was nabbed by the Cougar second baseman.

Coupeville’s last dying breath came in the seventh, when freshman Hunter Smith cranked a one-out shot that seemed to have base hit written all over it.

Instead, a Cougar came flying out of nowhere and latched on to the liner in mid-air for a rolling catch that delighted the large contingent of Cascade fans next to the third base dugout.

With the win, Cascade Christian advances on to the double-elimination portion of districts, while Coupeville ends its season at 9-10.

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Heal quickly, Jacob!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, beanball, CHS Wolves, Jacob Zettle on May 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Jacob Zettle

Heal quickly, Mr. Zettle.

A quick word or two for Jacob Zettle.

The Coupeville High School freshman took a pitch to the face in Thursday’s JV baseball game and had to leave the game with what is believed to be a fractured cheekbone.

The moment put a chill on the game, but the fact he was able to exit under his own power eased things a bit.

“Walked off the field. Tough kid,” said Lisa Jenne, mom of fellow Wolf player Jake Hoagland.

Coupeville coach Willie Smith was out of town with the varsity when it happened, but immediately checked on his young player.

“Pretty sore and beat up,” Smith said. “I talked with grandpa last night and he was OK; thought he would try to come to the game on Saturday depending on how he felt.”

Smith, an expert at defusing tense situations, also took time to good-naturedly needle his assistant once everyone had been assured Zettle was on the mend.

“I guess I can’t leave any kids with Chris Smith since, under his watch, two players have tried to catch the ball with their faces,” Smith said with a laugh.

“Not sure if that’s a new way of catching, endorsed by the new educators of the world or if we are just trying to be tough, but it’s not very efficient!”

Zettle has been one of those players who it is easy to root for, as he plays with great enthusiasm and hustle, always with a smile on his face.

As he recuperates, we here at Coupeville Sports just want to send him well wishes and a speedy recovery.

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Soon … very soon!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged 1A Olympic League, baseball, CHS Wolves, Hunter Smith, Josh Bayne, Klahowya on May 8, 2015| Leave a Comment »

As it heads into the postseason, the Wolf baseball squad is getting closer and closer to taking down the #1 team in 1A. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Closer and closer.

Klahowya may be unbeaten (18-0), may be the #1 ranked 1A team in the coach’s poll, but there’s a big, bad Wolf coming up stealthily from behind, just waiting for its moment to pounce.

The Coupeville High School baseball squad has played its Olympic League rivals three times this season — a fourth meeting could be looming in the district playoffs — and they have narrowed the gap each time.

After dropping the first meeting 10-2, they shaved the margin to 3-1 in the middle game, and then came agonizingly close Thursday, falling 1-0 in a game decided by one pitch that got away.

The loss dropped Coupeville to 9-9 overall, 5-4 in league play.

The Wolves now kick-off the postseason with a home playoff game Saturday (12 PM) against Cascade Christian, the #3 seed out of the Nisqually League.

Staff ace Aaron Curtin will be on the mound for CHS and it’s a loser-out game.

Win, and Coupeville advances to the double elimination portion of districts and would be just a single win away from making it back to the state tourney for the second straight season.

Trying to ruin Klahowya’s Senior Night festivities, the Wolves came dangerously close, but couldn’t get the one hit they needed to break things open.

In a game of few hits (Coupeville had four, Klahowya three), the Wolves twice had a runner at third, but failed to bring him home.

Kyle Bodamer and Clay Reilly lashed back-to-back two-out singles in the second, then moved up on a passed ball, but were left hanging when the next batter struck out.

Keeping alive the day’s trend of not getting the offense started until there were already two outs, Coupeville had another shot in the third.

Curtin bashed a double, then went to third when Carson’s Risner’s grounder was thrown away by Klahowya’s third baseman.

Unfortunately, the ball bounced right back on the field, forcing Curtin to hold up at third, and the Wolves sputtered with a ground out to end the brief rally.

Klahowya’s lone run came in the first, when the Eagles used a single, a stolen base, a fielder’s choice and a mix-up between Wolf hurler Hunter Smith and Risner to plate a runner.

The freshman pitcher tried to take the blame, calling it a wild pitch, while the senior backstop demurred, claiming it was a passed ball.

With Wolf hurlers Smith and Aaron Trumbull combining to limit Klahowya’s offense, the Eagles only really had one other scoring opportunity, but Josh Bayne put the kibosh on that.

With runners at the corners and one out in the sixth, a Klahowya runner tried to tag and come home on a short sac fly, but Bayne came up firing from center and terminated him in short order.

While he would have enjoyed messing up the Eagles perfect season, Coupeville coach Willie Smith was generally pleased with what he saw.

“We played really well, getting very good pitching and strong defense but once again, we just couldn’t get a hit when we needed one,” he said. “Other than getting the win, I was pretty happy with how we played.

“We approached this like it was a playoff game and that’s what it felt like, so we feel pretty mentally prepared for Saturday and if we can manage to get some guys on with less than two outs, I feel like we can produce some offense to go with our pitching and defense.”

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