Izzy Wells? She’s pretty good at this softball thing. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
This was a big one.
The Coupeville High School varsity softball team is chasing a return to the state tournament this spring, and games against quality foes will prep the Wolves for high-pressure contests to come.
Which is why CHS coach Kevin McGranahan had a huge smile on his face Wednesday after watching his team dismantle visiting Cedar Park Christian-Bothell.
Powered by sisterly sluggers Izzy and Savina Wells — who combined for five RBI — Coupeville KO’d the Eagles 7-4 in a game in which the home team never trailed.
The non-conference victory, coming against a quality 1A foe, lifts the 2B Wolves to 7-1 on the season.
Next up is a road trip Thursday to Sultan for another non-league tilt, before a Northwest 2B/1B League doubleheader Friday at La Conner.
While CPC resides in a different classification now, the Eagles are former league rivals of the Wolves, from back when both schools lived in the 1A North Sound Conference.
The last time any Washington state high school softball teams vied in a state tourney, Izzy Wells was a freshman phenom, and getting past the Eagles was a major step to the Wolves advancing to the big dance.
Jump forward three years, with the last two postseason-free thanks to Covid, and the Izzinator is now a battle-hardened senior flinging fastballs caught by Savina, her freshman catcher.
Wednesday the duo clicked as usual, with Izzy Wells whiffing 12 Eagles, with the final punchout coming on the game’s last out.
The sisters also led the way at the plate, but they weren’t the only ones, as Coupeville rained down 10 hits on the Eagles.
The first big base-knocks came early, with the Wolves erupting for three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Audrianna Shaw opened things with an emphatic leadoff single to right field, before CPC recorded back-to-back outs to (almost) escape untouched.
I say almost, because Izzy Wells, Madison McMillan, and Mia Farris erupted for consecutive RBI singles, plating their teammates with well-smacked hits.
The elder Wells went to left field with a shot, McMillan tore the top of the shortstop’s glove off with a laser, then Farris capped things by spanking a ball between two CPC fielders.
Coupeville added another two-out run in the second, with Savina Wells lashing a liner to straightaway center to send Gwen Gustafson motoring for home.
Cedar Park fouled off a ton of pitches, sending Wolf bench players running in every direction to retrieve runaway balls, but couldn’t break through against Izzy Wells.
One of the few times the Eagles made solid contact, a batter lofted a long fly only to see Shaw, gliding across the top of the grass in centerfield, smoothly snag the ball out of the air while in mid-stride.
Coupeville’s defense was first-rate most of the game, as evidenced by a one-two-three inning in the fourth.
McMillan snagged a pop-up between short and third and Savina Wells scraped the heavens to pull down a foul ball which hit the clouds behind home.
But it was the third out which was the most eye-popping, as Allie Lucero scrambled to pull in a foul ball over first, then went airborne like she had time travelled back to The Karate Kid and run afoul of “Sweep the leg, Johnny!”
The ball hit Lucero’s mitt, both of her legs violently shot out from beneath her, and the slick-fielding lefty went face-first into the sweet, sweet grass.
While never dropping the ball, it should be noted, which caused her teammates, coaches, and fans to go bonkers.
Allie Lucero is a defensive dynamo.
CPC got one run across on a Wolf error to cut the deficit to 4-1, but that was where it remained until a wild fifth inning.
The frame started with a sickening injury, as two Eagles players thunked into each other while chasing after a Shaw foul ball.
Neither the CPC catcher or third baseman called each other off on the play, and the duo met while traveling at full steam, sending both players crashing.
With no protective gear or face mask, the infielder took the worst of the collision, and remained face down for some time, eventually leaving a spattering of blood in the dirt.
Her face wrapped in gauze, one eye covered, the battered Eagle was able to eventually walk off the field largely under her own power, but it rattled her teammates.
Given a second chance, Shaw eked out a walk, then stole second to launch a game-busting three-run rally.
Once again, the rampaging Wells sisters brought the heat, with Savina punching an RBI single — but only after she bounced a foul ball off the windshield of a moving car.
Putting the final punctuation point on an unusual half-inning, Izzy launched a moon shot, almost clearing the fence, before outrunning the relay to claim a two-run homerun.
While CPC got the three runs back in the top of the sixth, that was as much of a comeback as it could mount on this day.
Izzy Wells ended the sixth by corralling a high pop-up, before coming back around to garner strikeouts #11 and #12 as she closed out the game in the seventh.
With Coupeville’s league games having been blowouts, getting the chance to play quality bigger-school foes like CPC or Lynden Christian — the only squad to upend the Wolves this season — is huge.
“We finally played a competitive game and we played mostly clean,” Kevin McGranahan said.
“Bats looked good against real pitching and we never wavered, even when they were trying to come back.
“It was a good test to see where we are now, compared to where we were when we played Lynden Christian.”
Wednesday stats:
Taylor Brotemarkle — 1 single
Mia Farris — 1 single
Gwen Gustafson — 1 walk
Maya Lucero — 1 single
Madison McMillan — 2 singles, 1 walk
Audrianna Shaw — 1 single, 1 walk
Izzy Wells — 1 single, 1 homerun
Savina Wells – 2 singles
Savina Wells rips the hide off the softball.
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