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Diamond men ready for a break

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Island rivalry, Peyton Caveness, SWHS Falcons on March 30, 2024| Leave a Comment »

It’s been that kind of season. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Time to step back and take a deep breath.

Coming off a 14-1 loss to visiting South Whidbey Saturday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad sits at 3-6 on the season.

But the defeat to their Island rivals, while it stings, came in a non-conference rumble.

The Wolves are 2-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play and just a game out of first place with eight more conference clashes ahead on the schedule.

In other words, there are days when Coupeville’s diamond men play really solid ball. And a few when things don’t necessarily go in the direction they intend.

So, with spring break arriving, it’s a perfect time for the Wolves to get some rest, let things go for a bit, then get back at it on the other side.

CHS returns to action April 8 with a home non-conference game with Sultan, then plays eight of its final nine against NWL rivals.

When the Wolves return to play, they’ll likely be focused on cutting down defensive errors and increasing scoring opportunities.

Both of which stung Coupeville Saturday, as five errors and 16 walks allowed South Whidbey to pile up some runs.

While the Wolves were also outhit 5-3, the hometown heroes put runners on base in every inning.

Unfortunately, the guys in red and black didn’t bring anyone all the way around the basepaths until they scraped out a late run in the bottom of the fifth, and final, inning.

Before then, the Wolves put two runners on base in the first, second, and third, and a solo man aboard in the fourth.

But Coupeville kept on missing on getting that one key hit to really kick a rally off, and stranded runners each time until Peyton Caveness tapped home very late in the game.

Peyton Caveness has been a rock for the Wolves this season.

The visitors, by contrast, pushed four runs across in the top of the first, another three in the second, and one more in the third.

The Wolf defense stiffened in the fourth, holding South Whidbey scoreless for a frame, but then the Falcons threw six more runs on the board in the fifth to ice the game.

Coupeville, which was ending a very busy week, mixed and matched its pitchers, using Caveness, Cole White, Jack Porter, and Camden Glover on the hill.

The foursome combined to whiff six Falcons, two more than the number of K’s racked up by South Whidbey’s pitching staff.

The Wolf hits — all singles — came from Coop Cooper, White, and Caveness, while Aiden O’Neill walked twice and Landon Roberts and Yohannon Sandles both eked out a free pass.

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Hit-happy Wolves crack Concrete

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Concrete, Northwest League, Peyton Caveness, triples on March 29, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Scoring runs is dusty work. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Concrete was the cure.

A Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad which had tallied 20 runs across its first seven games topped that total in just five innings of play Friday afternoon.

Rapping out hit after hit, including three separate three-run triples, the Wolves pasted their hosts, cracking Concrete 25-7 in a game mercy-ruled.

The win lifts CHS to 2-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League action, 3-5 overall heading into a home showdown Saturday with next door neighbor South Whidbey.

Coupeville’s offense was unstoppable Friday, rolling up a season-high 20 hits and 11 walks. Overall, 14 of the 16 Wolves to see the field reached base.

Concrete had one brief glimmer of hope in the top of the first, then things went sideways in a hurry.

Wolf leadoff hitter Peyton Caveness crunched a triple but was nabbed trying to come home on a ball off the bat of Landon Roberts.

After that, it was all Coupeville, all day.

CHS pushed seven runs across in the first, with Yohannon Sandles delivering a two-run single and Aiden O’Neill clearing the bags with a triple to right field.

With Seth Woollet dealing on the mound and punching an RBI single of his own through the Lion defense, the Wolves shoved the lead out to 12-0.

Caveness delivered his team’s second three-run triple to cap the early push.

Peyton Caveness prepares to get dramatic.

While Concrete scraped out a pair of runs in its half of the second, Coupeville scored in every inning, with the advantage eventually ballooning out to 25-2 through the top of the fifth.

In the third, the big blow was an RBI double from Jack Porter, while in the fourth it was an RBI triple from the very same batter.

The fifth was brutal for Concrete, as the hometown nine couldn’t get off the field quickly enough, surrendering eight more runs.

Jack Porter, having himself a day, blasted Coupeville’s third, and final, three-run triple, with Camden Glover, Carson Grove and Jayden Little all plating runners with base-knocks.

Grove, just an 8th grader, was superb in relief, tossing two shutout innings for the Wolves, holding his foes to a single hit across the third and fourth.

Concrete, looking for a little redemption, or at least a positive note to end its tortured day, scored five runs in the waning sunshine in the bottom of the fifth, but it was too little, too late.

Woollet, Grove, Matthew Gilbert, and Glover combined for the win, with the group racking up nine strikeouts.

At the plate, Jack Porter was a man afire, blasting two doubles and two triples while being credited with a team-high five hits and five RBI.

Caveness collected a pair of triples as part of a three-hit day, while White, Grove, and Sandles each added a pair of singles.

Cole White can kill you with his bat or glove.

Rounding out the hit parade were O’Neill (3B), Glover (2B), Johnny Porter (1B), Gilbert (1B), Little (1B), and Coop Cooper (1B).

Glover and O’Neill both walked three times, with Aidyn McDermott, Sandles, Roberts, and Cooper showcasing eagle eyes while collecting a free base.

Easton Green and 8th grader Nick Laska also saw playing time, with the latter making his varsity debut.

Saturday’s rumble with South Whidbey, which is a rematch from earlier in the season, is scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.

It’ll be part of a busy day on the prairie, with the Wolf softball squad slated to host Onalaska in a doubleheader starting at the same time.

In other words, a perfect time to do some spring cleaning in the morning, then bring your no longer needed DVD’s down to be left next to my green ‘n dirty Xterra in the parking lot as I build a secret underground shrine to Videoville’s glory days.

Just sayin’.

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(Bad) Wolves beat (good) Wolves

Posted in Baseball, tagged Aiden O'Neill, baseball, CHS Wolves, Sequim, Seth Woollet on March 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Landon Roberts played strongly while patrolling the outfield Wednesday. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Welcome to Willie Smith Day, sort of.

The Coupeville High School Athletic Director was a busy bee buzzing around the prairie Wednesday afternoon.

First, he brought me both candy and a sizzlin’ batch of donated DVDs — “Dick Tracy vs. Cueball” to “True Grit” to “Willy Wonka” and much more!

Then, he watched his old-old team (Sequim) beat his old team (Coupeville) 10-0 in a baseball battle played out in front of former CHS greats like Bill Jarrell and Sandy Roberts.

With two packs of Wolves scrapping, it created some confusion for fans as they hollered support.

Even more reason Coupeville should mix it up and find a hip new mascot like the Mighty Mussels or Mosquitos or Geoducks and sell a ton of merch to hipsters across America.

Create a cartoon character featuring a Penn Cove mussel, flexing its muscles, and slap that sucker on t-shirts, mugs, and hoodies and sell ’em from Bangor to Bangladesh.

Rake in that sweet, sweet Mighty Mussels moola, and there’s your balanced budget right there, baby!

But anyway, back in reality — where I scored DVDs featuring both Clint Eastwood and One Direction — Wednesday’s non-conference tilt was a fairly one-sided one.

Sequim, reppin’ a 2A school, outhit the 2B Wolves from Cow Town 9-3, earned a 9-1 advantage in walks, and played perfect defense while Coupeville committed five errors.

The visitors, who packed the bleachers with fans, opened the game with a quick one-two shot, pushing across a pair of runs in the top of the first to seize an early advantage.

Meanwhile the hometown Wolves had a little trouble getting their own offense kick-started.

The first trip through the lineup produced just one baserunner from nine at-bats, and it only happened because of a great deal of pain.

CHS shortstop Cole White got blasted by a wayward pitch, the ball burrowing nice and deep into his Gonzaga-bound flesh.

As he hobbled down to first, waves of pain rolling out of every pore on his body, even his mom, Morgan, averted her eyes and grimaced.

Her pale prairie prince survived — he’s a tough kid as shown by the 1,371 times he bled during basketball season — but Cole will likely have a deeply impressive bruise to show off in the morning.

“You wore the pitch. Respect.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Unable to bring White home, Coupeville at least held the line on defense, thwarting a potential steal of home in the top of the second.

With the bags juiced, a Sequim runner tried to catch CHS pitcher Aiden O’Neill napping, but the sophomore hurler pegged the ball to catcher Peyton Caveness in time.

Trying to avoid the tag, the incoming player awkwardly went airborne at the last moment, then realized too late that, unlike disgraced singer R. Kelly, he really didn’t believe he could fly.

Coupeville third baseman Yohannon Sandles made a nice play on a hot grounder to end the inning, and the good version of the Wolves stayed close for a bit.

Sequim tacked on a run in the third to make it 3-0, then made its move with a three-run fourth and a four-run fifth.

CHS finally got its bats clicking, at least a bit, but couldn’t put enough base knocks together to mount a rally.

Caveness thumped a double but was stranded when Sequim tracked down a long fly ball off the bat of Landon Roberts to end the third.

Jack Porter lashed one of Coupeville’s three hits, while also making a strong defensive play on a long fly to left. (Ember Light photo)

Then, in the fourth, after Sandles and Jack Porter delivered back-to-back one-out singles, Sequim dodged a bullet by pulling off superb defensive stops on hard-hit balls from Coop Cooper and Camden Glover.

O’Neill and senior Seth Woollet got their first major pitching work of the season, while Sequim countered with Ayden Holland, who had himself a day.

The 12th grade chucker held Coupeville largely in check while throwing the shutout, and also reached base four times with two hits and two walks while operating as a batter.

The Cow Town hardball squad, which sits at 2-5 after the loss, continues a busy week with a trip Friday to Concrete for a league clash.

After that, Coupeville’s nine are back on their home field Saturday for an Island rumble with South Whidbey.

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One step forward, one step back

Posted in Baseball, tagged Aidyn McDermott, baseball, CHS Wolves, Northwest League, Orcas Island on March 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Johnny Porter collected one of Coupeville’s four hits on Orcas Island. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

This is not the direction they want to head in.

A game after pulling off an impressive rally to claim a league win in extra innings, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball team didn’t even get the chance to play a full seven frames.

Too many walks and too many errors dinged the Wolves on Orcas Island Tuesday, as a 1-0 lead slipped away en route to a 14-1 loss called after five innings thanks to the mercy rule.

The defeat drops Coupeville to 1-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 2-4 overall and kicks off a super-busy week.

If Mother Nature agrees, the Wolves host Sequim Wednesday, travel to Concrete Friday, then host South Whidbey Saturday.

The first and third of those games are non-conference affairs, with the middle one a league rumble.

Coupeville’s seniors will be back in action Wednesday at home.

The opening salvo in the calendar crush started halfway in favor of CHS.

Starting pitcher Landon Roberts escaped a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first, forcing a ground ball back to the mound for out #3.

Using that little bit of derring-do as a spark, the Wolves scraped together what would turn out to be their only run in the top of the second.

Johnny Porter ripped a one-out single to right, followed by twin terror Jack eking out a walk, and the table was set.

Senior slugger Aidyn McDermott then feasted on a fastball two batters later, lashing a two-out RBI single to left to put Coupeville on top for a hot moment.

Unfortunately, that moment was fleeting.

Five walks, two errors, and one well-placed single blew things up in the bottom half of the frame, as Orcas surged ahead 6-1.

From there, things were fairly rough for the visitors.

Coupeville had a shot at plating a run in the third, with Cole White and Yohannon Sandles spanking back-to-back two-out singles.

But White was cut down at home while trying to score, and the Wolves only picked up one hit batter across the final two innings, leaving little chance for a rally.

Orcas pushed two more runs across in the third, before putting the game away with another six-run burst in the fourth.

The Vikings racked up seven hits on the afternoon, but also greatly benefited from 11 walks and five Coupeville errors.

Roberts struck out four in his time on the mound, with Peyton Caveness coming on in relief to pick up a fifth K to end the final Orcas rally.

Coupeville’s four hits came from White, Sandles, Johnny Porter, and McDermott, with Caveness being plunked and Jack Porter getting a less-painful walk to round out the offense.

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Rain’s so bright, they need shades

Posted in Baseball, Softball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Lark Gustafson, Softball, Steve Hilborn on March 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Aaron Lucero leads off a pack of diamond gurus. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

To shade, or not to shade, that is the question.

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous sunshine, or to take up reflective glasses against a sea of warm rays stabbing you in the eye.

Or some such nonsense.

Photo day for Coupeville High School softball and baseball brought out a mix of those who say “shades!” and those who, at least on this day, say “no shades!”

PS — It would actually be 4-3 in favor of shades, but I already ran my photo of CHS softball head coach Kevin McGranahan in an earlier story.

My only excuse? I was blinded by the potential page hits.