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Etzell exits with style!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged All-State, baseball, Ben Etzell, CHS Wolves, Saint John's University on June 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell, throwin’ heat during his time as a Wolf. (John Fisken photo)

Etzell and dad Mike, an assistant coach for CHS, have made the baseball journey together.

Ben Etzell went out on top.

The recent CHS graduate capped his high school baseball career Sunday by playing in the All-State Baseball Series in Yakima.

One of 72 seniors invited to the two-day event, he played for Team Adams, which finished as the runner-up in the four-team series.

Adams fell 10-5 to Team St. Helens in the championship game, while Team Rainier drilled Team Baker 11-2 in the consolation final.

Etzell was one of four pitchers used by Team Adams in the championship game.

“It went well,” he said. “It was an amazing experience and it was fun to be teammates with kids I have played against.

“The talent level was ridiculous,” Etzell added. “I would say about 90% of the kids had already signed to play baseball in college next year, so that gives you an idea of the type of players who were there.

Mount Si’s Evan Johnson was tabbed as the offensive MVP while Jordan LaFave of Lake Washington was named defensive MVP.

Etzell now moves on the next stop in his diamond career.

He will be attending Saint John’s University in Minnesota in the fall and hopes to play ball for the school, which is a top NCAA Division III program.

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Know Your Foe: Klahowya’s George Harris!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Basketball, Football, tagged baseball, Basketball, CHS Wolves, football, George Harris, Klahowya Secondary School on June 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Klahowya three-sport star George Harris.

With Coupeville leaving the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and joining Port Townsend, Chimacum and Klahowya in the 1A Olympic League this fall, now is a great time to learn a bit about some of the players who will face off with the Wolves in the future.

George Harris is a throw-back.

At a time when no Coupeville High School boy has played the core three sports (football, basketball, baseball) the past two years, they will run into at least one new opponent who does just that.

Harris, a junior-to-be at Klahowya Secondary School, doesn’t take any seasons off, and he hopes to be successful in each of them.

“My athletic goals for next season are to letter in each sport and go to the playoffs in each, as well,” he said.

While he gets something out of all of his sports (“What I enjoy is the friendships I build with my teammates and the competition”), Harris picks football, where he plays quarterback and linebacker for the Eagles, as his favorite in a close call.

“My favorite is football because, out of the three, I believe it is the biggest team sport,” Harris said. “To have success your whole team has to be on the same page and stick together like brothers.”

Away from the field, he enjoys boating with friends and is a regular church-goer.

In the same way he treats his teammates as family, Harris draws support and encouragement from those closest to him.

“My mother and father have had the biggest impact on me,” Harris said. “They are both very supportive of me.

“My mom is always there for me to talk to when I am going through something,” he added. “My dad is the person I still play catch with in the front yard and he provides the moral and financial support to play all the sports I do.”

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Yakima, we have an incoming Etzell!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged All-State, baseball, Ben Etzell, CHS Wolves on June 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Ben Etzell gets nasty. (Shelli Trumbull photo)

Ben Etzell is going back to Eastern Washington.

Two weeks after playing in the state tennis tourney, the recent Coupeville High School graduate is headed to Yakima this weekend for baseball, after being selected to play in the All-State baseball series.

The doubleheader, which draws the top players from every classification in Washington (1B, 2B, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A), is set for June 14-15.

Etzell will play for the Adams team in the Saturday game (12 PM) at Yakima County Stadium.

He was one of two players to come out of his feeder games to get the call.

Overlake’s Matt Kaiser was also selected, while South Whidbey’s Colton Sterba and Nick Bennett made the first cut, but were denied an invite to Yakima.

They both were the ones that I would have chosen,” said CHS coach Willie Smith, who coached in the feeder games. “Both high quality players/kids.

“Great honor for Ben and a great way to cap off his high school career, very deserving and earned.”

Etzell, who will be attending Saint John’s University in Minnesota in the fall, will get a chance to play in front of college coaches.

Don Freeman of USA Baseball and Donnie Marbut of Washington State University will speak at a banquet for the players, while the head coaches from Gonzaga, Portland and Washington are also scheduled to be on hand.

During his senior year Etzell was lights-out on the mound and became the first Wolf in any sport to be named league MVP in the 1A/2A Cascade Conference.

He struck out 15 in one game, threw a no-hitter in another and helped carry Coupeville to its first state tourney appearance in six seasons.

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Big Ben and the boys dazzle!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged All-State, baseball, Ben Etzell, CHS Wolves, Willie Smith on June 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Wolf seniors (l to r) Kurtis Smith, Wade Schaef, Jake Tumblin, Ben Etzell and Morgan Payne, with coach Willie Smith. (Shelli Trumbull photos)

“You’re never gonna beat me, Tumblin. I am lightning unleashed!!”

Everyone in a Coupeville baseball uniform made an impression.

All four Wolf seniors playing in the 1A/2B/1B All-State feeder games in Bellingham Monday had big moments, topped by Ben Etzell claiming the Al Evans Award and being nominated for the All-State series.

Etzell, who was joined on the 10-man nomination list by South Whidbey’s Colton Sterba and Nick Bennett, got the win on the mound in game two.

His Nationals squad won 3-0 after being nipped 3-2 in the opener by a squad of Whatcom County’s best.

Etzell will learn in the next week if he’s been selected to head to Yakima for the June 14-15 series, which brings together players from all of Washington state’s classifications.

“It’s based loosely on this game, but more on his season stats, so he should have a pretty strong case,” said Coupeville coach Willie Smith.

Smith, who coached the Nationals team along with his CHS assistants, had his moment in the sun, as well.

“I beat (assistant coach) Chris Tumblin in a race to get a ball, which is not surprising since I am a superior athlete and quick as a cat,” Smith said with a laugh. “He tried to exploit his lower proximity to the ground but it was all for naught!

“The games were pretty good as well!”

In addition to Etzell, who tossed three shutout innings, “hit the ball well, and was a vacuum at third base,” fellow Wolf seniors Jake Tumblin, Wade Schaef and Kurtis Smith all stepped up big time.

The fifth Wolf senior, Morgan Payne, was sidelined by his recovery from a broken hand.

Tumblin, normally a catcher, also saw action at second base and “was pretty darn good making all his plays hit to him, including a great over the shoulder running catch in short center.”

He also smacked a pair of hits, while Kurtis Smith “threw a runner out at second base by about ten feet who had foolishly tried to run on him” and Schaef “made probably the play of the two games when he went on a full sprint into the left center gap and dove to snare a for sure double.”

“Overall, the boys represented themselves and the Wolves very well and got quite a few compliments from the director of the game on how solid they were,” said a proud Willie Smith. “It was a great day and a lot of fun.”

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It’s Bayne a very good year!!

Posted in Baseball, Football, Happy birthday, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, football, Happy birthday, Josh Bayne on June 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Josh Bayne

He is the star of tomorrow, today.

Coupeville High School junior Josh Bayne, who celebrates his birthday today, is primed to be the BMOC next year.

With the graduation of Jake Tumblin, Bayne will move up and become the primary ball carrier for the Wolf football team.

It’s a role he’s suited for, as he slashed and flat-out blew people up whenever he touched the ball the past two seasons.

When Tumblin was injured, Bayne rambled for 204 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries against Sultan.

Not content to merely run, he snagged four pass receptions for another 57 yards and collected four tackles and four assists while patrolling the backfield on defense.

He also got the quote of the season, from CHS stat man Chris Tumblin, after an especially impressive defensive effort against Nooksack Valley.

“Josh had one tackle on a receiver, folded him in half like a cheap hooker who was punched in the gut by her pimp,” Tumblin said. “He had to sit out for awhile and wait for his liver to start working again.”

On the baseball diamond, Bayne cranked a home run over the farthest part of the CHS outfield fence as a sophomore, then was named Second-Team All-Cascade Conference as a junior.

Whether he’s in the infield, or on the mound, Bayne can deal.

The best would seem to be yet to come, as CHS moves out of the 1A/2A Cascade Conference and into the 1A Olympic League in the fall.

Bayne should bring the pain in both of his sports, as the Wolves try to make an immediate impact on their new foes.

So enjoy your birthday, Josh, and get ready — next year is yours.

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