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Falcons rally late, edge Wolves

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 19, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Camden Glover whacked a double Wednesday in Langley. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Missed it … by that much.

The Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad stranded too many runners Wednesday in Langley, leaving host South Whidbey a chance to rally late for a 4-2 win.

The non-conference loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Wolves, who tumble to 9-4 on the season.

With the victory, the Falcons even their mark at 7-7 and earn a split in the season series, after Coupeville clobbered them 13-2 in the season opener.

This time around the Wolves had plenty of chances to blow the game open, but left runners aboard in each of the first five innings.

Trailing 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, South Whidbey finally broke through thanks to Coupeville’s lone error and a two-out RBI double from Tyson Henry.

With Falcon hurlers retiring the final nine Wolf hitters, the hosts capitalized on their chances in the sixth, pushing three runners across to claim the lead for the first time.

Three walks jammed the basepaths, with a Josh Sterba sac fly knotting things up at 2-2.

Coupeville was an out away from escaping, but Grady Davis delivered the game-buster, launching a two-out, two-run double to center to knife the Wolves.

The game opened as a pitcher’s duel, with CHS hurler Coop Cooper carrying a shutout through the first four innings.

The freshman flinger whiffed six Falcons and didn’t surrender a hit until the third, but his own team struggled to provide run support.

The Wolves stranded four runners through the first three frames, before finally breaking through to score in the top of the fourth.

Starting with the bases loaded and no outs after a Camden Glover double, a Peyton Caveness single, and Cooper being plunked by a pitch, things were looking explosive.

But while CHS did score twice, forcing in a run when Aiden O’Neill was hit by another pitch, and netting another tally off of a Scott Hilborn smash to third base, the Wolves offense sputtered out after that.

Other than a Jack Porter walk to open the fifth, Coupeville came up empty across the final three innings.

While the Wolves outhit the Falcons 4-3, South Whidbey walked 10 times to Coupeville’s five free passes.

The CHS hardball squad gets an immediate chance to fix that, as it plays its third game in as many days Thursday, when it hosts Mount Vernon Christian.

That game pits the top two teams in the Northwest 2B/1B League, with MVC sitting at 9-0 in conference action, and Coupeville right behind them at 7-1.

First pitch is 4:00 PM at Robert Sherman Field.

 

Wednesday stats:

Peyton Caveness — Two singles
Coop Cooper — One walk
Camden Glover — One double
Scott Hilborn — One single
Aiden O’Neill — One walk
Jack Porter — Two walks
Cole White — One walk

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Hardball squad locks down #1 playoff seed

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Chase Anderson is playoff-bound. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They control their own destiny.

Playing fast and furious Tuesday afternoon, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad thwacked visiting Friday Harbor 4-0, claiming the #1 seed for the District 1/2 postseason tourney.

The victory, keyed by seven strong innings from starting pitcher Scott Hilborn and a big two-run single from fellow senior Jonathan Valenzuela, lifts the Wolves to 7-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 9-3 overall.

That record includes the recent addition of a forfeit win over Concrete from a game that was supposed to be played April 8.

Coupeville still has eight games left on the regular season schedule — six of them league contests.

The Wolves remain in a battle for the league title with 1B Mount Vernon Christian (9-0, 9-2) — which it hosts Thursday — but Tuesday’s win means CHS will be the top 2B squad.

Having beaten both Friday Harbor and La Conner twice already, the Wolves are 4-0 in that three-team round-robin and own all the tiebreakers.

So, when the playoffs arrive in mid-May, Friday Harbor, as the #2 team from District 1, faces off with the only school playing baseball in District 2 — Northwest Christian.

The winner advances to face Coupeville in a loser-out, winner-to-state game.

That’s still several weeks away however, so for now, the focus is on finishing strong.

The Wolves are scheduled to play four times in a five-day span, following up their shutout of Friday Harbor by traveling to South Whidbey Wednesday, hosting MVC Thursday, then bouncing to Orcas Island Saturday.

Game one in the hardball odyssey finished almost an hour before the Coupeville vs. Friday Harbor softball game across the street did, as Hilborn mowed down the Wolverines.

Scott Hilborn fires BBs.

Scattering four hits and two walks in seven innings of work, the senior righty set nine batters down on strikes, including two of three in the final frame.

He was never in trouble but did pick a runner off of first base and got some help from his defense when Valenzuela and Peyton Caveness combined to turn a double play.

Coupeville got the only runs it would need in the bottom of the first inning.

Hilborn reached on an error, freshman Chase Anderson plunked a single, then Valenzuela ripped a two-run single to centerfield to stake the Wolves to a quick 2-0 lead.

CHS added a run in the second, with Hilborn socking an RBI double that sent Cole White skittering home, before scraping out a final tally in the bottom of the sixth.

Valenzuela led off the frame with a single, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Camden Glover, stole third, and tapped home after a Friday Harbor error.

 

Tuesday stats:

Chase Anderson — One single
Peyton Caveness — One single, one walk
Coop Cooper — One single
Scott Hilborn — One double
Jonathan Valenzuela — Two singles

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First pitch, first swing, first snap

Posted in Little League, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

“Fear my fastball, son!” (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Rain drops (and baseballs) were in the air.

The North Whidbey Little League kicked a new season off Saturday, with John Fisken on scene to document the festivities, and the first game.

The pics above and below are courtesy him, but to see much more, pop over to:

https://www.johnsphotos.net/Sports/Oak-Harbor-Baseball-2022-2023/NWLL-2023-04-15-Opening-day/

 

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Busy week, big goals

Posted in standings, tagged , , , , on April 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Like this pic, the Northwest 2B/1B League standings are starting to come into focus. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

It’s the most important week of the season.

So far.

With spring sports in full flower, Coupeville High School teams will be in action every day next week between Tuesday and Saturday.

Mother Nature willing.

For Wolf softball, Tuesday’s home tilt with Friday Harbor looms large, as the result directly impacts any playoff hopes.

Win, and the postseason is still in play. Lose, and it’s not.

Either way, the Wolves also travel to Orcas Island Saturday for a game which marks 75% of the regular season being played.

Coupeville’s baseball squad will need to keep an eye on pitch counts, with four games in five days on the schedule.

The Wolves host Friday Harbor Tuesday, travel to South Whidbey Wednesday, are back home Thursday for Mount Vernon Christian, and hit the road Saturday to Orcas.

The first of those games will go a long way to determining which 2B squad from the Northwest 2B/1B League earns a state playoff bid, while the MVC matchup has epic league title implications.

Not quite as busy, but still very active, are CHS track and field and girls’ tennis.

The netters host Friday Harbor on Friday, while the runners, jumpers, and throwers have two meets.

The Wolves host the Coupeville Classic Invitational Wednesday, which doubles as Senior Night, before hitting the road Saturday for an appearance at the GearUp Eason Invitational in Snohomish.

As they gas up the busses and prepare the postgame snacks, a look at current league standings for those sports which have win/loss records.

 

Northwest League baseball:

School League Overall
MV Christian 8-0 8-2
Coupeville 5-1 7-3
Orcas Island 5-3 8-3
Friday Harbor 3-2 3-4
Darrington 2-6 3-6
Concrete 0-4 0-4
La Conner 0-7 1-9

 

Northwest League girls tennis:

School League Overall
Coupeville 1-0 1-4
Friday Harbor 0-1 0-1

 

Northwest League softball:

School League Overall
Friday Harbor 3-0 6-3
Coupeville 5-1 8-5
Darrington 3-1 4-2
Orcas Island 3-3 3-7
Concrete 0-4 0-6
La Conner 0-5 0-11

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Wolves run over Braves

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on April 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

Chase Anderson flies for home. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Speed kills.

So, good thing the fastest team on the diamond Thursday was Coupeville, and not La Conner.

Sparked by 19 steals, the Wolf varsity baseball team ran away with a resounding 12-2 win over the host Braves, handing them a key league win.

With the victory, CHS gets to 5-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-3 overall.

That keeps the Wolves right on the heels of 1B powerhouse Mount Vernon Christian, which is 6-0 in NWL action, while also pushing them to 3-0 against their fellow 2B schools.

League title or not, Coupeville’s playoff fate is determined entirely by how it does against La Conner and Friday Harbor, and Thursday’s win gets the Wolves halfway to a sweep of that six-game royal rumble.

CHS spaced out its runs against the Braves, scoring in six of seven innings, while using three pitchers to shut La Conner down.

Camden Glover got the start and tossed two scoreless innings before giving way to fellow freshman Chase Anderson, who whiffed seven batters across three frames.

Senior hurler Scott Hilborn wrapped things up, striking out five while working the sixth and seventh.

The Wolves jumped on the Braves for two runs in the top of the first, after starting things off with two outs and no one aboard.

Jack Porter poked a single to give Coupeville its first runner, before Jonathan Valenzuela and Glover eked out walks to juice the bags.

Taking full advantage of his opportunities, Peyton Caveness smacked a two-run single to left field, and the Wolves were off and rolling.

Back-to-back RBI singles from Hilborn and Anderson keyed a three-run rally in the second, while the third inning was the only time the Wolves failed to score.

La Conner briefly rallied in the bottom of the third, plating a pair of runners to cut the margin to 5-2, but that was it for the Brave offense.

Working methodically, and running the bases like crazy, Coupeville pushed three more runs across in the fourth, one in the fifth, two more in the sixth, and a final tally in the seventh.

“I love it when a plan comes together!”

Hilborn and Anderson delivered back-to-back RBI singles for a second time, while the run in the fifth came courtesy of a rare triple steal.

The last big crunch of the game came off of Glover’s bat, with the fab frosh walloping an RBI double to left.

CHS was strong in all facets of the game, with Hilborn gunning down a runner at the plate, and Anderson teaming up with Cole White and Glover to pull off an inning-ending double play.

Eight different Wolves garnered a steal in the speed-fest, with Aiden O’Neill, Hilborn, and Anderson notching four apiece.

 

Thursday stats:

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

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