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Hardball squad rallies, earns league title

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Friday Harbor, Jonathan Valenzuela, late rally, league title on May 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Steve Hilborn loves it when a plan comes together. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They earned it.

On their second long road trip in as many days, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad rallied from behind twice Thursday to upend host Friday Harbor in a high-scoring, high-tension affair.

In the end, the Wolves headed back to the ferry carrying an 11-8 win and a share of the Northwest 2B/1B League title.

Steve Hilborn’s crew wraps the regular season at 13-1 in conference action, matching the record put up by Mount Vernon Christian.

The Wolves and Hurricanes split their two-game season series but go in opposite directions for the playoffs.

MVC opens the 1B district tourney this Saturday, while Coupeville, now 15-5 overall, is off until May 13.

That’s when the 2B playoffs go down at Lakewood High School in Arlington.

Northwest Christian (Lacey) and Friday Harbor face off in a loser-out game at noon that day, with the victor squaring off with top-seeded Coupeville at 2:00 (or thereabouts) in a loser-out, winner-to-state clash.

Chase Anderson and the Wolves dive into playoff action May 13. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The week-plus gap between the regular season finale and postseason opener gives the Wolves some time to rest and add up all the stats they threw down against Friday Harbor.

Coupeville rapped out 12 hits Thursday, with eight different batters garnering at least one base knock apiece.

Friday Harbor, by contrast, collected eight hits, but none after the fourth inning, as Wolf relief pitcher Jonathan Valenzuela tossed 3.2 innings of no-hit ball to get the win.

The senior hurler came on in support of freshman Chase Anderson, and promptly ended most of the Wolverines hopes and dreams, whiffing five and retiring the final seven hitters he faced.

The game was a classic back-and-forth affair, the kind which can drive coaches to inhale Tums.

Coupeville had the early advantage, building a 4-2 lead with the game headed to the bottom of the fourth inning.

Scott Hilborn tapped home to open the scoring in the top of the first, taking advantage of a wild pitch, before Valenzuela came around in the second to deliver a two-run double to center field.

Tack on an RBI double off of Anderson’s bat, and a couple of nice defensive plays from Hilborn behind the plate, and the Wolves were looking good.

Then things got sticky for a bit, as Friday Harbor put together five straight hits in the bottom of the fourth to reclaim the lead at 7-4.

That was where Valenzuela ambled in to pitch, promptly closing the inning by striking out the first guy to challenge him, before inducing a groundout.

CHS jumped right back on their hosts, scoring three in the top of the fifth, but Friday Harbor scratched out a run in the bottom of the frame to go back in front 8-7.

The Wolves got consecutive hits from Peyton Caveness, Cole White, Aiden O’Neill, and Scott Hilborn to launch their first comeback, and the bats stayed hot for the visitors.

Fab frosh Camden Glover smoked an RBI single to left in the sixth to bring the game to 8-8, then it was time for Cole White to grab the white-hot spotlight.

Riley’s big brother laced a game-busting two-run single to center to put Coupeville on top for good, before the Wolves added an insurance run thanks to one of Friday Harbor’s five errors.

Jonathan Valenzuela deals. (Morgan White photo)

That set up Valenzuela to close out the game, and help his team match MVC, which shattered Orcas Island 11-1 earlier in the day in their own finale.

Throwing heat and smiling as the Wolverine hitters went down in flames, he wrote another chapter in a senior year which has included multiple big moments.

Valenzuela played key roles for football and baseball teams which won league titles, while also banking in a nearly-halfcourt buzzer-beater in basketball which made all of La Conner sob salty tears.

Thursday stats:

Chase Anderson — One double
Peyton Caveness — Two singles
Coop Cooper — One walk
Camden Glover — One single
Scott Hilborn — One single, one double, one walk
Aiden O’Neill — One single
Jack Porter — One single, one double, one walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — One double, one walk
Cole White — Two singles

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Turks trip up Wolves

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, road trip, Scott Hilborn, Sultan on May 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Chase Anderson flies around the bases. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

First it was a home game. Then it was off the schedule. And, finally, it became a road trip.

By the time the dust settled, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad found itself in Sultan Wednesday, where it absorbed a rare loss.

Despite having runners on base in every inning, the Wolves had trouble getting them all the way around the bags, falling 8-2 to the Turks.

The non-conference loss, only Coupeville’s second defeat in its last 12 games, drops it to 14-5 heading into the regular season finale Thursday afternoon.

That game is also on the road, with the Wolves traveling to Friday Harbor for a Northwest 2B/1B League showdown.

Win or lose against the Wolverines, CHS is the #1 seed for the 2B District 1/2 playoffs, which go down Saturday, May 13 at Lakewood High School in Arlington.

Northwest Christian (Lacey) and Friday Harbor face off in a loser-out game at noon that day, with the victor squaring off with Coupeville at 2:00 (or thereabouts) in a loser-out, winner-to-state clash.

The bout with Sultan was originally intended to be played Monday on Whidbey Island but was bounced from the schedule as the Turks scrambled to complete their league schedule.

With a little tinkering from the AD’s, however, the game was revived, with the Wolf hardball heroes sharing a bus with Coupeville’s track and field team, which was also listening to the wheels go round and round Wednesday afternoon.

Once in Sultan, CHS baseball jumped on Sultan, with leadoff hitter Scott Hilborn thumping a double.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, that was where they started to spin their wheels, following the two-bagger with three consecutive strikeouts to end the top of the first without a run.

That was a trend which stung Coupeville all game, as the Turks continually dodged dangerous situations to emerge mostly unscathed.

CHS batters hit into three double plays, with two of those coming after the Wolves started the inning with two runners aboard and no outs on the scoreboard.

Coupeville did push a runner across in the top of the third to knot things up at 1-1, thanks to Hilborn and his speed demon feet.

The spry senior lashed a two-out single, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, then zipped home on a passed ball.

Sultan responded quickly, however, and fairly brutally, ringing up seven unanswered runs to blow the game wide open.

A couple of hits, and several Wolf errors, allowed the Turks to plate four runs in the bottom of the third, while five straight Sultan base knocks in the fourth tacked on three more tallies.

Trailing 8-1, Coupeville scratched out a run in the fifth, with Peyton Caveness walking and coming around to score on an error, but that was it for the Wolves.

Jonathan Valenzuela led off the sixth with a single, followed by Camden Glover wearing a pitch, but a double play sucked the life out of the rally.

An inning later, down to their final at-bats, the Wolves put two more aboard, with Caveness walking and Hilborn singling, but a pop up ended the game.

On the mound, Hilborn struck out five through 5+ innings of work, while Valenzuela came on late to retire both of the hitters he faced.

Three of Coupeville’s five losses have come to bigger schools, with the Wolves bowing to 1A rivals Meridian, South Whidbey, and Sultan, in addition to defeats to 2B Forks and 1B Mount Vernon Christian.

The six-run loss to the Turks is the most lopsided defeat of an otherwise stellar season for the Wolves.

Wednesday stats:

Peyton Caveness — Two walks
Camden Glover — One single, one walk
Scott Hilborn — Two singles, one double
Jack Porter — One single
Jonathan Valenzuela — Two singles

Coupeville’s baseball players had to get a second ride home after their bus tore up its serpentine belt. (Jon Roberts photo)

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JV caps season, looks to future

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, JV, Piotr Bieda, Sedro-Woolley on May 3, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Piotr Bieda eyeballs the pitcher. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

These are the building blocks for the future.

The Coupeville High School JV baseball squad capped its season Tuesday, going toe-to-toe with 2A Sedro-Woolley as the Wolves continue to “play up.”

Four of Coupeville’s seven JV games have been against 1A, 2A, or 3A schools this season.

And while the 2B Wolves ultimately fell 17-7 at Sedro, the CHS young guns showed resiliency, rallying at one point to slap seven unanswered runs on the board.

Six of those tallies came in the top of the fourth inning, as Coupeville used four hits and two walks to slice away at the lead.

The Wolves added a run in the sixth but couldn’t quite complete the comeback.

Coupeville matched Sedro with eight hits on the afternoon, but was ultimately undone by its defense, which had a rough outing, committing seven errors.

JV coach Jon Roberts mixed and matched his pitchers, giving two innings of work apiece to Landon Roberts, Peyton Caveness, and Matthew Gilbert.

The coach’s son led the way with three strikeouts, while his companions got valuable time to develop their pitching repertoire.

“We have to develop Peyton into a pitcher and he has the stuff to do so,” Jon Roberts said. “Matthew is raw, but he will make a good pitcher. Can’t ever start too early.”

The Wolves got field time for 16 players Tuesday, with Johnny Porter, Yohannon Sandles, Marcelo Gebhard, Seth Woollet, Skylar Sand, David Dominici, Jaje Drake, and Jack Farrell all in action.

Jayme Carranza — in his season debut — Piotr Bieda, Aidyn McDermott, Parker Fuller-Hewitt, and Myca Clarkson filled out the roster.

“Every player played at least an inning,” Jon Roberts said. “Today was a good day.

“We were playing ball in the sun, developing young talent to fill the future CHS varsity team. No win, but a ton of learning!”

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Clear skies, clear lens

Posted in Baseball, Fashionable Fans, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Jill Prince, Maddie Georges, Softball on May 2, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Susan Farris leads off a collection of pics featuring Wolf softball and baseball fans. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Every freakin’ year.

Last home game of spring sports arrives, and, for the first time, fans can wear shirt sleeves and look upward without catching infield dirt in the face thanks to madly swirling prairie winds.

Wanderin’ photographer John Fisken took advantage of a clear lens Saturday, snapping pics as both Coupeville High School softball and baseball celebrated Senior Night.

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Sluggers savor sunny swan song

Posted in Baseball, Softball, tagged baseball, cake day, CHS Wolves, Senior Night, Softball on May 1, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Diamond men (l to r) Piotr Bieda, Scott Hilborn, and Jonathan Valenzuela celebrate Senior Night. (Morgan White photo)

There was cake, and foreign flags, and two big wins.

Coupeville High School parents went all out Saturday, as Wolf baseball and softball celebrated Senior Night.

CHS crushed visiting La Conner on both sides of the road, mixing domination in with emotion.

Along the way, the Wolves said goodbye to five softball sluggers and three diamond men, with the majority of those players having gone the entire way in red and black.