Wolf 8th grader Adeline Maynes delivered a stellar pitching performance Saturday. (Jackie Saia photo)
Adeline Maynes was ferocious Saturday, but Bella Frye was just a little better.
The Coupeville 8th grader struck out a varsity career-high 12 batters on the road in Granite Falls, but her junior rival came within one swing of a perfect game, leading the host Tigers to a 2-0 win on the softball diamond.
The non-conference loss, coming against a former league rival, drops the Wolves to 8-4 heading into a busy week.
CHS, coming off of back-to-back tough tangles with strong 1A teams, makes a bid to reclaim its Northwest 2B/1B League crown next week.
The Wolves, who are 5-0 in conference play, travel to Darrington Monday, then host Orcas Island Tuesday, Concrete Thursday, and Darrington Saturday.
Playing up against stellar competition in its non-conference games can only help a young Coupeville squad which starts three 8th graders and two freshmen.
Maynes may not be taking high school classes yet, but she more than held her own Saturday.
Striking out batters in all six innings she threw, the young gun finished hot, whiffing back-to-back hitters with runners at second and third to end Granite’s chances in its final frame.
The Tigers pushed across one run in that bottom of the sixth, thanks to two well-placed singles, but could get no more.
That gave Frye a little padding, as she had carried a 1-0 lead since the first inning.
The game’s first run came thanks to a two-out blow to left field from (who else?) Granite’s hurler, which curled away from the fielder, then got a nice bounce when it touched down.
Running full-tilt, Frye beat the incoming throw to give herself the only run she would end up needing.
Coupeville got out of the first inning thanks to catcher Teagan Calkins gunning down a would-be base stealer, her throw nailing the runner by several steps.
Between that first run, and the one which came across in the sixth, the two pitchers were lights out, with not a single walk issued, and almost every ball in play immediately snuffed out by defenders.
Frye, who struck out five Wolves, went through Coupeville’s lineup twice, retiring the first 18 batters she faced.
The spell finally broke when CHS leadoff hitter Haylee Armstrong scorched a single to center to start the seventh.
The fab frosh got all the way to third base, but that was it as Granite Fall’s ace ended the game with three consecutive groundouts.
Coupeville Sports 