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One step closer to title town

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Hawthorne Wolfe and fellow Coupeville seniors won their final home game. (Morgan White photo)

“A great send off for our seniors!”

Coupeville High School varsity baseball coach Will Thayer was in a good mood Friday as afternoon faded into evening.

And why not?

His squad had bounced back from a non-conference loss a day before, pounding visiting Orcas Island 12-5 Friday on Senior Night.

The victory lifts the Wolves to 10-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 12-6 overall, with a road game at Darrington next Tuesday, May 3 the regular-season finale.

Coupeville remains a half-game up on Friday Harbor (9-1, 12-2) in the chase for the league crown.

While the Wolves finish at Darrington, the defending NWL champs host La Conner May 3, then travel to Orcas May 5.

If Coupeville and Friday Harbor — which split their two-game season series — finish in a tie, they will play May 12 on a neutral field in La Conner.

That game would be a winner-to-state, loser-out game.

But that’s down the road, and Friday was all about staying in the here and now and taking care of business.

Consider it mission accomplished for Coupeville.

On a day when CHS honored seniors Sage Sharp, Cody Roberts, Xavier Murdy, Cole Hutchinson, and Hawthorne Wolfe, the sun was out, the wind was sharp, and the Wolves were sharper.

Roberts was dealing on the mound, finishing with eight strikeouts while scattering just four hits.

Cody Roberts is in the mood to generate strikeouts. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Meanwhile, with Roberts reaching base four times, he and his teammates scorched Orcas pitching for 12 base-knocks and six walks, building an 11-0 lead, then coasting home for the win.

Coupeville broke through early, plating three runners in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to a string of walks and a couple of key hits.

Peyton Caveness and Wolfe laced singles to knock the visiting Vikings back on their heels, and the rout was underway.

The third inning was Coupeville’s finest moment, as Jonathan Valenzuela crunched a triple as part of a game-busting five-hit, six-run explosion.

Up 9-0, the Wolves tacked on two more tallies in the fourth and a final run in the sixth, while Orcas scraped out four runs in the top of the fifth to keep from being mercy-ruled.

 

Friday stats:

Chase Anderson — 1 single
Peyton Caveness — 2 singles, 1 walk
Scott Hilborn — 1 single
Cole Hutchinson — 1 single, 1 walk
Xavier Murdy — 1 single, 1 walk
Cody Roberts — 2 singles, 2 walks
Sage Sharp — 1 walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — 1 single, 1 triple
Hawthorne Wolfe — 2 singles

Xavier Murdy and Co. are in first place in the Northwest 2B/1B League. (Morgan White photo)

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Hardball squads play to rare tie

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Landon Roberts and Coupeville JV baseball played to a 6-6 tie Thursday in Langley. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Well, that was unexpected.

Thursday’s JV baseball game between Coupeville High School and host South Whidbey started with an offensive bang, turned into a pitcher’s duel, then closed with another burst of runs.

Which all resulted in a … tie?

It’s true, as the Wolves and Falcons settled their 6-6 stalemate by calling it a day and not battling any longer into the fading sunshine.

Instead, the teams came away happy with getting to play a full seven frames — especially on a day when they followed the varsity in action — instead of a cut-down four or five inning affair.

With the tie Coupeville sits at 3-4-1 on the season, with a road trip to Mount Vernon this Saturday next up on the schedule.

Thursday’s royal rumble got started with an explosion of runs, as the Wolves slapped three runs on the board in the top of the first, only to have the Falcons respond with four of their own in the bottom half of the frame.

The opening Wolf rally was sparked by base-knocks from Aiden O’Neill, Seth Woollet, Chase Anderson, and Camden Glover.

With three of those four being only 8th graders, Coupeville’s offensive future is a bright one.

After combining for seven runs in the first inning, the teams only scratched out two more across the next five innings, with both of those coming from the Wolves in the third.

Cole White bopped a single to get things going, with Jack Porter mashing an RBI double to tie the game, and Landon Roberts ripping a run-scoring single to push CHS ahead 5-4.

The Wolves made it 6-4 in the seventh, after O’Neill was plunked, then came around to score when White launched a two-bagger.

Give South Whidbey credit, though, as the host team forced the tie by pushing two runs across in their last at-bats, all without getting a hit.

Two walks, some adventurous base-running, and an unfortunate Coupeville error left the door open just long enough for the stalemate to be forged.

Still, win, loss, or tie, the game showcased Coupeville’s bats, as all 10 players who saw the field collected a hit.

 

Thursday stats:

Chase Anderson — 1 single
Coop Cooper — 1 single
Camden Glover — 1 single, 1 walk
Cole Hutchinson — 1 double
Aiden O’Neill — 1 single, 1 walk
Jack Porter — 1 single, 1 double
Landon Roberts — 1 single, 1 walk
Cole White — 1 single, 1 double
Kai Wong — 1 single
Seth Woollet — 1 single

Chase Anderson whacks a hit.

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Falcons nip Wolves on diamond

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 28, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Xavier Murdy and his fellow CHS seniors will be honored Friday. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

One small break can be brutal.

Playing less than 24 hours after winning a battle for league supremacy, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball team took a small step backwards Thursday afternoon.

Dinged by back-to-back fielding errors at a crucial moment, the Wolves fell 3-1 at South Whidbey, allowing the Falcons to earn a season split in the series between next-door neighbors.

The non-conference loss drops Coupeville to 11-6 heading into Senior Night Friday against visiting Orcas Island.

The first time the Wolves and Falcons clashed this season, CHS pulled out a 3-2 win at home. Second time around, just as close, but not with as positive an ending.

“Probably some big game hangover,” said Coupeville coach Will Thayer.

The Wolves were likely still buzzing after handing Friday Harbor its first Northwest 2B/1B League loss of the season a day before, and they quickly jumped on South Whidbey when Hawthorne Wolfe rapped a leadoff double.

Unfortunately, the speedy senior never made it all the way home, starting a day-long trend in which Coupeville put runners on base in every inning, yet couldn’t break out a big rally.

The lone run for the Wolves came in the top of the third, when Jonathan Valenzuela smacked a two-out triple, then skittered home on a double off of Scott Hilborn’s bat.

Coupeville collected seven hits — three from Sage Sharp — and two walks, but stranded eight of those nine runners, making life dicey.

Valenzuela, who whiffed five while going the distance on the mound, pitched well, but South Whidbey scratched out just enough offense to carry the day.

Jonathan Valenzuela brings the heat.

The Falcons plated one run in the first, with a walk to Grady Davis bringing Nick Black in to score.

It was the bottom of the third which proved to be Coupeville’s Kryptonite, however, as Ashton Leland and Andrew Hilton both tapped home for South Whidbey thanks to Wolf errors.

From there, Coupeville was in lock-down mode, with catcher Xavier Murdy throwing out two would-be base stealers.

The Wolves cap a three-games-in-three-days run with Friday’s tilt with Orcas, and they’ll honor seniors Murdy, Wolfe, Cody Roberts, Cole Hutchinson, and Sharp.

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Sweet win for Wolf hardball squad

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on April 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Jack Porter and Coupeville bounced Friday Harbor to move into first place in the Northwest 2B/1B League. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

Is there anything sweeter than hearing the fans of a rival team getting really, really quiet?

You know, that moment when all the bluster turns into sweet, sweet tears as the guys and gals in the wrong colors realize their ferry ride home is going to be a long, sad one.

Such was the plight for Friday Harbor fans Wednesday afternoon, as the sun faded over the prairie, and their baseball team’s unblemished league record got all dinged up.

Bushwhacked 11-8 by a Coupeville hardball squad which played fast, loose, and dangerous all day, the Wolverines fell out of first place in the Northwest 2B/1B League for the first time this season.

Now it’s the real Wolves, the ones sporting black and red, who sit atop the seven-team conference at 9-1 in league play, 11-5 overall.

Friday Harbor falls a half-game back at 8-1, and Coupeville’s win all but assures the teams will meet for a third time — at a neutral site — to decide which school will claim the NWL’s only berth to the 2B state tourney.

For now, the Wolves will briefly bask in the win, then immediately hit the road to play a non-conference tilt Thursday at South Whidbey.

Senior Night against Orcas Island is Friday, with a May 3 trip to Darrington wrapping the regular season.

Wednesday’s royal rumble under rare sunny skies meant everything for Coupeville, as a Friday Harbor win would have clinched that trip to state for the visitors.

The Wolverines stole a 3-2 win the first time around, courtesy a late-game meltdown by the CHS pitching staff, but the rematch was a different story.

Coupeville hurlers Hawthorne Wolfe and Scott Hilborn largely held Friday Harbor at bay, getting into a few sticky spots at times, but almost always finding a way back out.

That was true from the get-go, as the visitors loaded the bags in the top of the first when what would have been an inning-ending third strike kicked away from CHS catcher Xavier Murdy.

Showing no nerves, Hawk nodded.

X nodded.

And the duo promptly punched out the next batter to end things with the first sob breaking loose from the throat of a Friday Harbor fan.

Sparked by the wham-bam ending, the Wolves jumped on the Wolverines for three runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Wolfe singled, Jonathan Valenzuela walked, Hilborn beat out a chopper, then Murdy whacked a ball back up the middle which Friday Harbor misplayed into a two-run error.

After that Coupeville proved it didn’t know how to flinch, with Peyton Caveness and Sage Sharp both gritting their teeth as wayward pitches found random body parts.

Peyton Caveness reached base three times in the win.

Sharp’s walk the hard way pushed the lead out to 3-0 and gave a brief glimmer of hope that CHS might just 10-run the Wolverines.

Alas, it wasn’t to be, as Friday Harbor scraped its way back into the game, dumping three runs on the board in the second, and another tally in the third to reclaim the lead.

But, just as Friday Harbor fans started to puff out their chests and let loose with a lot of pro-Wolverine chatter, Coupeville punctured their dreams.

A couple of hits, a couple of walks, and a lot of aggressive running on the basepaths — which provoked Friday Harbor errors both physical and mental — allowed CHS to bolt back in front at 8-4 through three frames.

That was a lead the Wolves would never lose.

Friday Harbor sliced the margin to 8-5 in the fourth, then 8-7 through the top of the fifth, but time and again Coupeville proved resilient.

Wolfe sliced an RBI single to center to push the lead back to two runs, before the Wolves slapped home twice on face-first dives into home in the bottom of the sixth.

Murdy came crashing home hard on a wild pitch to make it 10-7, before Caveness hugged the plate after Cody Roberts bopped a long sac fly.

Down to their final outs, the visitors got one more run in the top of the seventh but watched their final baserunner wilt as Hilborn bore down to slam the door.

First he induced a groundout to Valenzuela at third, who came up with a gorgeous throw.

As the ball snapped into the waiting glove at first, there were “oohs” and “ahs” from Coupeville fans, and a “sweet son of a goat lickin’ whore!!” (or something close) from an especially-peeved Friday Harbor rooter.

Think how that dude felt when Hilborn erased the final batter with a strikeout, the bat missing the ball by a healthy six to eight inches?

Oh, enough sweet, salty Friday Harbor tears to fill all the bathtubs in Coupeville tonight!

 

Wednesday stats:

Peyton Caveness — 2 singles, 1 walk
Scott Hilborn — 1 single
Xavier Murdy — 2 singles
Cody Roberts — 1 walk
Sage Sharp — 1 single, 2 walks
Jonathan Valenzuela — 1 walk 
Cole White — 1 single, 1 walk
Hawthorne Wolfe — 3 singles

Hawthorne Wolfe smacked three hits Wednesday, and got the win as a pitcher.

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Weather bumps title showdowns

Posted in Baseball, Softball, tagged , , , , on April 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Rain today, play tomorrow. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The battle for league supremacy has been bumped by a day.

Tuesday’s scheduled matchups between Coupeville and Friday Harbor on the softball and baseball diamonds have been moved to Wednesday because of forecasted rain.

Both games are scheduled to have 4 PM starts in Coupeville.

The baseball match-up pits Friday Harbor, which is 8-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play against a Wolves squad which sits at 8-1.

The Wolverines, who are the defending league champs, won the first meeting of the season 3-2 on Friday Harbor.

A win is crucial, as only one of three 2B schools from the NWL advances to the postseason, and La Conner is already eliminated.

On the softball side of things, Coupeville (5-0 in league) can clinch back-to-back league titles with a win over Friday Harbor (5-1).

While their league records look fairly similar, it’s deceptive, as the Wolf sluggers won 30-0 (not a misprint) the first time the teams played this season.

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