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RPI rankings favor Wolves

Posted in Baseball, Softball, tagged , , , , on April 8, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Adeline Maynes is the point of the spear for an 8-0 Wolf softball squad. (Jackie Saia photo)

The WIAA has entered the chat.

Wednesday marked the first time the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association has released Rating Percentage Index (RPI) numbers for spring sports.

And as soon as they did, Coupeville High School made a nice splash, with its undefeated softball squad landing #7 in the 2B rankings.

Meanwhile, the Wolf baseball squad shows up at #19 (out of 47 schools), with the WIAA crediting Steve Hilborn’s team with being 5-2, even though they’re really 6-2.

That’s not an error, but a quirk, as Coupeville’s season-opening victory against 3A Oak Harbor technically came against the Wildcats JV and the RPI rankings don’t count varsity teams beating JV teams, regardless of classification.

Aaron Lucero’s softball sluggers have no quirks on their own schedule, as they beat Oak Harbor’s varsity and sit at 8-0 as Spring Break unfolds.

The Smash Sisters have won six of those eight by 10+ runs and are one of just two 2B softball teams to still have a spotless record, joining #3 Liberty (Spangle), which is 11-0.

And actually, now there is a second quirk, as when the RPI rankings were first revealed Wednesday, Colfax was also undefeated and ranked #4 as shown in this photo.

Then the Bulldogs fell 8-4 to 2A Pullman in an early afternoon game, and slid from #4 to #8, while Adna, River View, Toutle Lake, and Coupeville all jumped a spot.

In the end, how important is RPI? Depends on who you ask.

The rankings are “one tool utilized by the seeding committees to determine first round bracket pairings into the state tournaments.”

So, there’s that, though first you have to punch your ticket to the dance for it to really matter.

Until then, it’s all about bragging rights.

So, yeah, it’s kinda a big deal for the easily hyped-up such as myself.

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Sluggers stage successful cancer fundraiser

Posted in Baseball, Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 7, 2026| Leave a Comment »

CHS softball sluggers (l to r) Haylee Armstrong, Sydney Van Dyke, and Cami Van Dyke played for others Saturday. (Photos courtesy Grant Van Dyke and WhidbeyHealth Foundation)

It was a solid day’s work.

Both the Coupeville High School softball and baseball teams won their home games Saturday, but there was more to the afternoon than just on-field action.

The Wolf sluggers spearheaded a Coupeville vs. Cancer event which raised $2,390.20 for WhidbeyHealth’s MAC Clinic through the sale of t-shirts and food.

Both teams dressed up for the occasion, with softball players sporting different colored socks to reflect different forms of cancer, while the diamond men wore special shirts.

Several players offered impassioned speeches about family members who have been impacted by cancer, and, for the first time this spring, home games were played on the prairie under clear blue skies.

The event required the coordinated efforts of many, led by Wolf Moms Michele Thule and Michelle Armstrong.

Also playing a large role was Rainy Simpson from the WhidbeyHealth Foundation and MAC nurses Sherry Phay, Lisa Toomey-Stout, and Courtney Gray.

The WhidbeyHealth Foundation sponsored the baseball team t-shirts, while the Coupeville Booster Club provided softball’s socks.

Ashley’s Design printed the shirts, and CHS coaches covered the cost of 100 hamburgers and 100 hotdogs.

 

Playing key roles:

Shaloma Allen
Joe and Michelle Armstrong
“Granny” Chris Baker
Mandi Black
Shawn Calkins
Mindy Grove
Lark Gustafson
Steve Hilborn
Rachel King
Leann and Nate Leavitt
Aaron and Jess Lucero
Dane Lucero
Tony Martin
Scott and Lara Maynes
Tamra Patterson
Morgan Payne
Mike Pearson
Jennifer Rains
Jon Roberts
Alix Roos
Dina Shaw
“Auntie” Bettie Sifuentes
Kristi and Brent Stevens
Mariah Stoker
Michele and Doug Thule
Colleen and Grant Van Dyke
Emily Zenz

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And then … a pause

Posted in Baseball, Girls Tennis, Softball, tagged , , , , on April 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Mikayla Wagner runs towards Spring Break. (Marquette Cunningham photo)

Everyone is taking a break.

Well, maybe not everyone, but a whole lot of people will be out of office next week as Spring Break fever ripples across the land.

There are only three baseball games and two softball rumbles featuring Northwest 2B/1B League teams on the schedule for the week of Apr. 6-11, and none of those feature a Coupeville squad.

The Wolf track stars and tennis players are also sidelined, though everyone will be back in action the following week.

Which likely means it’ll be sunny skies from now through next Sunday, and then Mother Nature will launch a comeback in time to bedevil the schedule makers.

While we wait to see what the weather forecasters have in store for us, here’s where things sit through Apr. 5:

Olivia Martin flies for home. (Julie Wheat photo)

 

Northwest League baseball:

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

 

Northwest League girls’ tennis:

School League Overall
Coupeville 1-0 2-2
Friday Harbor 0-1 0-2

 

Northwest League softball:

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

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Pain, sweet pain equals a Wolf win

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Carson Grove (and his CHS teammates) sacrificed their bodies for a win Saturday afternoon. (Jackie Saia photo)

Pain is temporary, victories are forever.

Winning in a most unusual manner Saturday, the Coupeville High School baseball team beat visiting East Jefferson 4-3 in extra innings thanks to a walk off hit batsman.

And while sophomore catcher Carson Grove delivered the win by getting plunked with the bases full in the bottom of the eighth inning, he was the fourth(!) Wolf to get nailed in just that frame, and seventh(!) in the game.

With the non-conference win, the Wolves avenge an earlier loss to East Jefferson, finish off a 3-1 week, get to 6-2 on the season, and head into Spring Break on a high.

Coupeville is off until Apr. 13, when it travels down Island to clash with next-door neighbor South Whidbey.

The week-plus break should allow the Wolves to heal up from all their bruises and any lingering injuries, with the hope the bats have warmed up by their return to the diamond.

Base knocks were in short order Saturday, and CHS went into the bottom of the seventh trailing 2-0.

Which just meant it was time for the rally caps to come out on the first truly spring-like game day the Coupeville diamond squads have enjoyed on the prairie this season.

Aiden O’Neill opened his team’s last set of at-bats by being plunked, before moving up to third thanks to a passed ball and an East Jefferson error.

The Wolves only manufactured four hits on the day, but Grove delivered one at a key moment, lacing an RBI single to center to plate O’Neill and finally get his team on the board.

The speedy backstop pilfered second base and came in to tie the game up at 2-2 thanks to another error by the unraveling visitors, but East Jefferson escaped, barely.

That sent the game to extra frames, with both teams scoring in the eighth.

A walk and a long double plated the go-ahead run for the visitors, but Wolf hurler Camden Glover closed out a strong performance on the mound by forcing a pop fly to first baseman Riley Lawless.

That set up the most improbable of finishes in the bottom of the eighth, as the Wolves sent five batters to the plate, got all five aboard, and brought two in to score.

Trent Thule got whacked by a wayward pitch to kick things off, followed by Glover lacing a single. After that, it was pain, sweet pain.

Coop Cooper got plunked to juice the bags, before O’Neill wore a pitch to force in the tying run, and Grove capped the HBP parade, absorbing one more jolt to set off the prairie victory celebration.

The strong finish more than made up for a slow start, as Coupeville struggled a bit in the early going.

East Jefferson pushed across a score in the first and another in the third, while the home team seemed stuck in neutral.

The Wolves had two runners aboard in the first after Glover socked a double, but had a runner nailed at home. An inning later, CHS again put two on base, only to see both of them picked off.

The third, fourth, and fifth went by too quickly for CHS, with just a Lawless walk, though the sixth provided an intriguing hint of things to come, as Leo Rodriguez and Thule got smacked by pitches that got away from the East Jefferson pitcher.

Glover did his part, whiffing 10 Rivals across eight innings of work, and kept things close while chucking 106 pitches.

After that, all the Wolves needed was a little luck … and a high tolerance for pain.

 

Saturday stats:

Coop Cooper — One walk
Camden Glover — One single, one double, one walk
Carson Grove — Two singles
Riley Lawless — One walk
Aiden O’Neill — Three walks
Leo Rodriguez — Two walks
Trent Thule — Two walks
Chris Zenz — One walk

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Eagle-eyed Wolves walk to success

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on April 2, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Riley Lawless and friends sit atop the Northwest 2B/1B League standings. (Jackie Saia photo)

Why run, when you can walk?

Taking full advantage of 14 free passes Thursday, plus five Darrington errors, the Coupeville High School baseball squad kept its early season run of success going with a 6-2 win over the Loggers.

The victory, which came on a chilly, if relatively wind-free prairie, lifts the Wolves to 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-2 overall.

Coupeville will cap a busy week Saturday with its fourth game in a six-day period, hosting non-conference foe East Jefferson.

First pitch is set for 2:30 PM, and the baseball action will be accompanied by a Coupeville vs. Cancer fundraiser, with proceeds going to WhidbeyHealth.

Thursday’s win, which gives CHS a season sweep of Darrington, featured a stellar pitching performance from sophomore hurler Carson Grove, who set down 13 Loggers on strikes across six innings of work.

Tack on a scoreless seventh from relief ace Trent Thule, and the visitors had few scoring opportunities.

Though, to be fair, the Loggers did score first, pushing across a run in the top of the second thanks to a single, a stolen base, and a passed ball.

Coupeville had its chances to get out in front big in the early going, only to see Darrington escape each time.

The Wolves loaded the bags in the first with no outs, only to strand all three runners, then came away with just a single tally in the second despite once again cramming the basepaths full.

Grove scored the tying run after reaching on an error, but a groundout back to the pitcher with the bases juiced ended things prematurely.

Not to worry, as Darrington’s pitching staff couldn’t keep the ball in the strike zone and kept giving Coupeville opportunities until the Wolves finally hit pay dirt.

A three-run third inning proved to be the difference, with walks to Coop Cooper, Aiden O’Neill, Grove, and Chris Zenz setting the table, and a Leo Rodriguez single cracking things open.

Up 4-1, Grove gave one run back in the fourth, before reverting into shut-down mode the rest of the way.

Coupeville closed out the top of the sixth with a slick double play, the ball going from Cooper to Grove to Glover, then tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom half of the frame.

Malachi Somes provided one of Coupeville’s two hits to start things up, but again it was a familiar story of Wolf walks and Logger errors.

With their softball counterparts in the stands for the seventh inning, the Darrington hardball hitters had hopes of a comeback, but it wasn’t to be.

Glover made a strong play to start the inning, charging in from shortstop to snag a bouncer and gun down the runner, and Thule slammed the door shut to move Coupeville back into a first-place tie atop the NWL standings with Mount Vernon Christian.

 

Thursday stats:

Coop Cooper — Two walks
Camden Glover — Two walks
Carson Grove — Two walks
Riley Lawless — One walk
Aiden O’Neill — Two walks
Leo Rodriguez — One single, two walks
Malachi Somes — One single
Trent Thule — Two walks
Chris Zenz — One walk

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