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Posts Tagged ‘Cedar Park Christian’

Freshman catcher Teagan Calkins smacked two hits Thursday, while also playing strong defense behind the plate. (Jackie Saia photo)

Iron sharpens iron.

So, you play a strong non-conference schedule and the on-field battles with good teams will help you hone your own skills.

But it also means you may take some losses along the way, especially if your team is stocked full of younger players still finding their way.

Such is the case for this year’s edition of the Coupeville High School varsity softball squad, which played an 8th grader, a freshman, and five sophomores Thursday against visiting Cedar Park Christian-Bothell.

And while the Wolves also had five seniors in the lineup, that group lost a season-and-a-half to the pandemic at the start of their high school run.

It makes for an interesting science experiment for CHS coach Kevin McGranahan, who saw his team make some very good plays Thursday, and some far less noteworthy ones.

By the time the nearly three-hour game, full of prairie wind and rain, was done, Coupeville absorbed a 15-5 loss.

But the non-conference defeat, which drops the Wolves to 4-4 on the season, didn’t become a blowout until the latter stages and went the full seven innings.

Cedar Park was only ahead 4-1 entering the top of the fifth but broke through for another 11 runs across the final three frames.

A series of Wolf errors, mixed with balls which rode the gusty winds to find holes in the defense, hurt late, but Coupeville never gave up.

Mia Farris and Haylee Armstrong, patrolling the outfield while trying to stay upright in the wind, both tracked down hard-hit balls and made solid catches while on the run.

Equally adept at reading the swirling gusts was freshman catcher Teagan Calkins, who twice fired off her face mask and sprinted to the backstop to snatch foul balls out of the air for crucial outs.

Combining defense with grit, Wolf relief pitcher Gwen Gustafson — shortly after being drilled in the leg with a hot liner back up the middle — flung herself forward to spear a bunt attempt which went airborne instead of to the ground.

To go along with its often-inspired defense, Coupeville racked up five hits and 14 walks, with Madison McMillan and Taylor Brotemarkle being plunked by wayward fastballs.

The Wolves had runners aboard every inning but came up just short of breaking things wide open.

Sometimes it was CPC making strong defensive plays — picking a straying runner off of third or turning a double play on a wicked Farris liner which was two inches away from being an extra-base hit.

Other times, it was Coupeville stopping itself, as the Wolf hitters went chasing after pitches out of the strike zone.

“Don’t help her out!” McGranahan cautioned his sluggers, but some bad pitches proved to be too enticing, and CHS ended every inning with runners still aboard.

Farris tapped home with Coupeville’s first run in the bottom of the third by getting creative.

The sophomore sensation walked, stole second by a mile, then scooted to third on a passed ball and sailed home on a wild pitch.

The Wolves picked up a run in the fifth, with Maya Lucero lashing a two-out RBI single that plated Calkins, then scored two more in the sixth.

Starting that mini rally with two outs and no one on base, CHS picked up a single from Calkins and a walk from Brotemarkle, before McMillan crunched a two-run double to center.

Coupeville’s final run came in the seventh, with Farris punching an RBI single into a gap, sending Jada Heaton hustling home.

The Wolves have a chance to get right back in a winning groove with a Northwest 2B/1B League clash Saturday against winless Concrete.

Originally scheduled to be a road game, it’s been moved to Coupeville, which has a slightly better weather forecast that day.

First pitch is 1 PM.

 

Thursday stats:

Taylor Brotemarkle — Two walks
Teagan Calkins — Two singles, one walk
Mia Farris — One single, one walk
Jada Heaton — Three walks
Allie Lucero — Three walks
Maya Lucero — One single, two walks
Madison McMillan — One double, one walk
Melanie Navarro — One walk

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Teagan Calkins is ready to play, but weather is not cooperating. (Jackie Saia photo)

No freezing on the prairie for you today.

A couple of hours after Friday’s home girls’ tennis match was postponed due to looming rain, school officials also bumped softball off the schedule.

Coupeville was slated to host Cedar Park Christian-Bothell, but the game has been moved to Thursday, Apr. 6, with first pitch set for 4:00 PM.

The Wolves are still set to host Orcas Island Saturday at noon, with the game dedicated to cancer awareness, but Mother Nature will have the final say.

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Cameron Epp peppered the net with a pair of goals in a road win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

There were so many goals, they lost track of who all scored.

But better a win with a slight blip in the stat sheet, than a loss in which no one has to tally up scores.

Emerging from the wilds of Lynnwood Tuesday, the Coupeville High School boys soccer team headed back to Whidbey riding the high of winning a rout.

Pushing Cedar Park Christian around the pitch all afternoon, the Wolves polished off their Northwest 2B/1B League rival 7-0.

The victory lifts Coupeville to 1-0 in conference action, 3-3 overall.

It also sets them up for a key matchup at home Saturday with Mount Vernon Christian (1-1 in league, 4-3-1 overall).

The second half of a doubleheader, action kicks at 3 PM, with the boys tilt following on the heels of a girls rumble between CHS and Crosspoint Academy at 1 PM.

With Cedar Park Christian being a bottom feeder among the nine schools playing boys soccer in the NWL, Coupeville coach Robert Wood shuffled things around a bit.

“Strategic game for us tonight, prepping for MVC this weekend,” he said. “New formation and bench players getting a majority of time, putting starters in support roles, restricting touches and movement.

“All to prepare for the fast, aggressive game MVC will throw at us.”

Cael Wilson, here in goal, stepped out and knocked home two goals Tuesday in Lynnwood. (Morgan White photo)

When it comes to punching the ball into the back of the net, Coupeville was led by Cameron Epp and Cael Wilson, who netted two goals apiece.

Nick Guay and Grant Steller each added a tally, while who scored the seventh goal is anyone’s guess at this moment.

Wilson, Guay, and Steller scored for the first time this season, and Coupeville now has nine booters in the scoring column during the current campaign.

 

UPDATE: The seventh goal has been found. It came off of the toe of Nick Guay, giving him two scores in the game.

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Alex Smith scored twice Saturday in a Coupeville win. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

“Very pleased with the way we played today.”

Coupeville High School boys soccer coach Robert Wood put some extra emphasis on the first word in that statement after his team bamboozled visiting Cedar Park Christian-Lynnwood Saturday afternoon.

Kicking off the front end of a pitch doubleheader, with the Wolf girls playing in the nightcap against Ocosta, the CHS boys rolled to a 7-0 victory.

The win lifts Coupeville to 1-1 on the season, with both games coming against Northwest 2B/1B League rivals.

The Wolves hit the road early next week, traveling to La Conner Tuesday, Sept. 20, before hosting their next two games.

The first of those home tilts will be a Friday special, with kickoff at 4 PM and admission free.

Playing on their own field Saturday afternoon, the Wolves dominated from start to finish.

“Mixing up the formation and player positions does wonders,” Wood said. “Everyone executed the game plan as we talked about – quick deliberate passing with pace and accuracy.

“Off-ball movement to support the ball; three touches max before distribution; aggression and determination to get the ball first; confident defending as a team.”

Coupeville spread its scoring out, with four different players beating the CPC goaltender.

Cameron Epp opened the assault on the net, rifling home a penalty kick in the game’s 10th minute, and then then the rout was on.

Reiley Araceley, Alex Smith, and Preston Epp each scored twice to round out the offense, with all four players netting their first high school varsity goal on the same day.

With four more sharpshooters etching their names in the scorebooks, 67 Wolves have scored for the CHS boys soccer program, which began in 2004.

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Coupeville’s varsity spikers played strongly Tuesday night but were nipped at Bothell. (Delanie Lewis photo)

They left it all on the floor.

Playing their second road match in as many nights, the Coupeville High School varsity volleyball squad opened like champs.

Unfortunately, the Wolves couldn’t hold off a late charge by host Cedar Park Christian-Bothell, eventually falling just short in a torrid five-set thriller.

The 20-25, 18-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-11 non-conference loss drops Coupeville to 1-2.

The Wolves continue their road trip, but with a twist, as they head to Yakima for Friday’s SunDome Volleyball Festival.

Tuesday’s titanic tilt against a former league rival from back when Coupeville was a 1A school was a tale of two halves.

The Wolves, now a 2B franchise, were torrid early, only to lose the spark before being able to put the match on ice.

“Pretty tough one tonight, being on the other side of a reverse sweep,” said Coupeville coach Cory Whitmore.

“We played lights out in the first two sets, serving tough and attacking really well,” he added.

“In the third our errors began to fuel their fire and we got tentative on the attack which then allowed their offense to get rolling.”

Up two sets and leading 20-16 in the third, the Wolves were on the cusp of a major win.

But then the Eagles soared, and Coupeville, while not buckling, also could not put the finishing touches on a win.

“Our girls never gave in and battled, but having given them the momentum, we couldn’t put the ball down,” Whitmore said.

Maddie Georges flicks a pass to hard-hitting Jill Prince. (Jackie Saia photo)

As he bumped across the darkened back roads of America in a school bus on the long trek home, Coupeville’s spiker guru was able to pick out highlights which bode well for the future.

Alita (Blouin) was something else tonight – defensively she was all over the place and covered so much area in serve receive,” Whitmore said. “A lot of fun to watch.

Grey (Peabody) got up on so many attacks tonight, always available on Maddie’s (Georges) sets,” he added.

“And Ryanne (Knoblich) had a great all-around game; she had a ton of receptions, strings of serves, kills and only one error, all the while racking in 17 digs.”

 

Tuesday stats:

Alita Blouin — 1 kill, 30 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace
Mia Farris — 4 kills, 3 digs, 2 aces
Maddie Georges — 1 kill, 14 digs, 22 assists, 10 aces
Taygin Jump — 7 digs
Ryanne Knoblich — 6 kills, 17 digs, 4 aces, 1 block assist
Grey Peabody — 9 kills, 1 dig
Jill Prince — 7 kills, 2 digs, 1 block assist
Lyla Stuurmans — 2 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace

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