Carson Grove faced three batters in Darrington, striking them all out. (Photo courtesy Mindy Grove)
They’ve got a shot at sharing first place.
After toppling Darrington 13-1 in five innings Monday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad will immediately turn around and play its biggest game of the season Tuesday.
Now 6-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-8 overall, the Wolves host Orcas Island (7-1, 10-4) in a game set to kick off at 4 PM on the prairie.
Win that one and CHS earns a series split with the Vikings and moves into a tie atop the conference standings with three games left to play.
For a couple of hours at least, however, the Wolves can bask in the afterglow of decimating the Loggers to claim their fifth-straight league win.
Coupeville dominated the game in every aspect, racking up 10 hits and 13 walks, while using five pitchers to limit Darrington to just two base knocks.
The Wolves jumped on their hosts quickly, putting up a three-spot in the top of the first, and never looked back.
Peyton Caveness rapped a leadoff single, Cole White walked, then Steven Gonzalez plated the game’s first run on an RBI groundout.
A walk to Chase Anderson kept things hopping, with Jack Porter putting a punctuation mark on things with another hit.
Not content to stop there, CHS blew the game wide open with an eight-run rally in the second inning, turning a 3-1 lead into an 11-1 rout.
Five walks, including Aiden O’Neill and Jack Porter getting plunked, helped, while Johnny Porter socked both a double and triple in the same frame.
Johnny Porter is a hit machine. (Ryan Blouin photo)
Not that Coupeville really needed it, but the visitors added two more runs in the fourth to set the final score.
This time it was Anderson and Seth Woollet with key hits, while Easton Green, Jayden Little, and Landon Roberts all eked out free passes to keep the basepaths full.
Darrington’s hitters offered little resistance, with CHS coach Steve Hilborn able to juggle his pitching staff and limit everybody’s workload.
With three more games this week — the Wolves host Orcas Tuesday, Concrete Thursday, and Darrington Saturday on Senior Night — they’ll need fresh arms.
Monday saw Roberts get the start, then depart quickly, as he shared time on the mound with Carson Grove, Caveness, Coop Cooper, and Jack Porter.
The five-pack combined to whiff 10 Loggers, with Grove and Porter each striking out the side in their one inning of work.
Monday stats:
Chase Anderson — Two singles, one walk
Peyton Caveness — Three singles
Jack Farrell — One walk
Camden Glover — One walk
Easton Green — One walk
Steven Gonzalez — One walk
Nick Laska — One walk
Jayden Little — Two walks
Aiden O’Neill — One walk
Jack Porter — One single, one walk
Johnny Porter — One double, one triple
Landon Roberts — One single, one walk
Dylan Robinett — One walk
Cole White — Two walks
Seth Woollet — One single
