Camden Glover delivered big pitches and big hits to spark a come-from-behind win Saturday. (Photo courtesy Stevie Glover)
The rally caps worked.
Sparked by big plays from freshmen Camden Glover and Coop Cooper, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad roared from behind Saturday, scoring four runs in the final two innings to topple visiting Orcas Island 5-4.
The victory lifts the Wolves to 3-1 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 5-3 overall, and gives them sole possession of second place in the seven-team NWL heading into spring break.
Coupeville, which trails just Mount Vernon Christian (5-0) in the race to defend its league crown, returns to action next Saturday, Apr. 8, when it travels to Concrete.
Saturday’s showdown pitted the Wolves against a very-tough Orcas squad, and Mother Nature let the showdown go on, opting not to bust out rain as expected.
The two teams delivered a pitcher’s duel early, with the game knotted at 1-1 after three innings.
Coupeville pushed a run across in the bottom of the second thanks to consecutive singles from Jonathan Valenzuela, Jack Porter, and Glover, while Orcas responded with a run of its own in the top of the third.
That tally was set up by a walk and a pair of Wolf errors, as the hometown hardball squad struggled a bit with its glovework.
Orcas crept ahead with two runs in the fourth, and another in the fifth, with another error and a wild pitch being daggers which pierced the Wolves.
Even down 4-1, CHS wasn’t ready to accept its impending loss, however.
The Wolves manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth, with leadoff hitter Scott Hilborn earning a two-out walk, before stealing second, moving to third on a balk, and scampering home on a passed ball.
That cut the margin to 4-2, and Glover, on in relief to start the sixth, closed the game with two scoreless innings of work on the mound.
After surrendering a single to kick things off, he retired the next three Vikings in a row, setting the stage for the big rally.
The bottom of the sixth was a showcase of steady Wolf nerves, with Valenzuela and Porter nabbing walks, the latter after being plunked by a wayward pitch.
Then came the crunch time base knocks, as Glover and Cooper delivered back-to-back blows which found openings in the defense.
Glover’s single to left sliced the deficit to 4-3, while Cooper’s shot up the middle — with a little help from an Orcas error — plated two runners to give CHS a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Vikings didn’t go down easy, drawing two walks in the top of the seventh, but Coupeville’s young hurler wasn’t having it.
Rearing back and throwing heat, Glover got the final two outs of the game on big strikeouts, as he finished with three K’s.
Coupeville’s starting pitcher, Hilborn, rang up seven Vikings across five innings of work, giving the Wolf duo a combined 10 punchouts on the afternoon.
Saturday stats:
Chase Anderson — One walk
Coop Cooper — One single
Camden Glover — Two singles
Scott Hilborn — One walk
Jack Porter — One single, one walk
Jonathan Valenzuela — One single, two walks
Coupeville Sports 