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Posts Tagged ‘Central Whidbey Little League’

Pineapple Ninjas head home, heads held high!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , , on July 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Pineapple Ninjas.

The Pineapple Ninjas at rest. (Megan Somes photo)

Isabelle Wells enjoys a post-tourney milk shake. (Katy Wells photo)

Isabelle Wells enjoys a post-tourney milk shake. (Katy Wells photo)

Coaches (l to r) Mimi Johnson, Katy Wells and Lark Gustafson have led teams to back-to-back district titles.

Coaches (l to r) Mimi Johnson, Katy Wells and Lark Gustafson have led teams to back-to-back district titles.

(Jacque LaRue photos)

   Tracking down food, but never too busy to stop for a photo op. (Jacque LaRue photos)

Impromptu dance party.

Impromptu dance party.

"We'll be back to see you next year!!"

“We’ll be back to see you next year!!”

They’re building a tradition.

Back-to-back District 11 titles. Back-to-back trips to the state tournament.

With softball fever raging at every level in Coupeville, the younger generation is making a statement. They plan to keep the fire burning on the prairie.

And while the season may have ended Sunday for the Central Whidbey Little League 9/10 All-Star softball sluggers — the Pineapple Ninjas dropped a close 14-11 game to East Seattle in Vancouver — the afterglow of the season will last for a long time.

As she prepared to pull her players back out of the swimming pool and head home, Central Whidbey coach Mimi Johnson was justifiably proud.

The Pineapple Ninjas don’t have the huge base of players that the big-city teams draw from, but they have pluck like no one’s business.

“Girls did great!,” Johnson said. “We battled!!”

And guess what, big-city teams?

They’ll be back and they’ll keep getting better and going deeper in these tournaments.

Central Whidbey softball is on the rise, across every age division, across every team.

Little League to high school, they are getting stronger, more confident, and their belief in themselves, as individual players and as a unit, grows with every day, every play.

They go by many names.

The Pineapple Ninjas, the Sizzlin’ Sisters, the Venom, and then, one day, they all become Wolves.

And the howl of success that is sweeping the prairie never stops echoing.

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Swing for the fences!!

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , , , on July 12, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Gavin Knoblich, giving pitchers nightmares every time he picks up a bat. (John Fisken photos)

   Gavin Knoblich, giving pitchers nightmares every time he picks up a bat. (John Fisken photos)

Luke Vrable drops a sweet bunt.

Luke Vrable drops a sweet bunt.

Chelsea Prescott breaks off a nasty fastball.

Chelsea Prescott breaks off a nasty fastball.

CHS soccer/tennis star Mckenzie Meyer is happy, cause her little bro' is in the next photo.

  CHS soccer/tennis star Mckenzie Meyer (right) is happy, cause her little bro’ is in the next photo.

See, told ya. Caleb Meyer drops down to snag an incoming ball.

See, told ya. Caleb Meyer drops down to snag an incoming ball.

Zach Ginnings is a man with a mission. A mission to crush the ball.

Zach Ginnings is a man with a mission. A mission to crush the ball.

Knoblich

Knoblich shows off his ballet-like defensive moves, stretching out to snag a throw.

"some day that could be you. Just gotta stretch those quads out..."

“Some day that could be you. Just gotta stretch those quads out…”

The photos were poppin’.

The runs, not so much, but tomorrow is another day.

Unable to scrape together much offense, the Central Whidbey Little League 11/12 All-Star Majors baseball squad fell 6-1 to arch-rival North Whidbey Sunday.

The loss evened Central’s record at 1-1 in the ongoing District 11 playoffs and drops them into a loser-out battle with South Whidbey Monday.

That game is set for 6 PM at the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation Fields.

North Whidbey will play Sedro-Woolley at the same time and place, with the winner advancing to the championship series.

The loser of Central vs. South will join Anacortes and turn in their gear, while the winner Monday advances to play the loser of the N. Whidbey/Sedro game.

While they have their backs to the wall now, Central Whidbey can look at the successful championship run of Coupeville’s 9/10 softball team for inspiration.

That squad also lost early, then ripped off a string of wins in loser-out games to win a district title and earn a berth at state.

As they prepare for their next hurdle Monday, now is a perfect chance to step back and enjoy some pics from Sunday’s game, courtesy John Fisken.

To see more (and possibly purchase a few), pop over to:

https://www.shutterfly.com/progal/album.jsp?aid=768a5498cf36117f1544

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“I wanted to be challenged!!”

Posted in Baseball, Little League, tagged , , , on July 11, 2015| 1 Comment »

Chelsea Prescott flings heat. (John Fisken photo)

Chelsea Prescott flings heat. (John Fisken photo)

Prescott models her All-Star uniform.

Prescott models her All-Star uniform. (Josie Prescott photo)

Chelsea Prescott is a diamond dandy.

Baseball or softball, doesn’t matter. Toss her a ball and a mitt and she’s at home.

Prescott, who will be a seventh grader at Coupeville Middle School in the fall, is currently part of Central Whidbey Little League’s 11/12 All-Star Majors baseball squad.

That team kicked off district tourney play with a win over Anacortes Saturday and advances to play North Whidbey next.

If things had gone as originally planned, though, Prescott wouldn’t have been on the squad.

After putting in two seasons of fall ball as a baseball player, she was planning to hop back to softball this summer.

But Central Whidbey was unable to field enough players — four girls ultimately traveled to South Whidbey to play — and Prescott’s options were limited.

“My goal was to play junior softball, but my mom, with her work schedule and my dad being deployed, going to South or North was not possible,” Prescott said. “It was a possibility to stick with baseball and I stayed with baseball because I wanted to be challenged.”

She had an immediate impact, toeing the rubber as a pitcher, while also pulling time at “short stop, third base, and, sometimes, outfield, when my coach needs an arm.”

Prescott enjoys pitching and hitting and is quick to assess the pros and cons of her game.

“My strengths are running,” she said. “I would like to work on pitching more and especially catching.”

An active athlete, Prescott also plays volleyball, basketball and soccer.

In the few moments in which she’s not competing as an athlete, she enjoys math, is in band and is a fan of romance, horror and comedy films.

Her support crew includes her family and local coaches, who have helped her shine since she was barely old enough to pick up a bat.

Prescott is quick to call them out for their support.

“My mom, dad, and coaches Kevin McGranahan and Ron Wright, for taking a chance on me being the only fourth grader on the team!”

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“We held our own!!”

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on July 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

sb

Central Whidbey sluggers give a thumbs-up to being at the state tournament for the second straight season. (Renae Mulholland photo)

Reunited and it feels so right. Central Whidbey coach Mimi (Iverson) Johnson (left) and Marysville's Natalie (Slater) Maneval were teammates at Coupeville High School and Skagit Valley College.

   Reunited and it feels so right. Central Whidbey coach Mimi (Iverson) Johnson (left) and Marysville’s Natalie (Slater) Maneval were teammates at Coupeville High School and Skagit Valley College.

Win or lose, they were going to end the day in the swimming pool. That was a stone-cold fact.

So, while Central Whidbey’s coaches mull over an opening loss at the state little league softball tourney, their players have already moved on, happily splashing away in Vancouver.

The Pineapple Ninjas, Central Whidbey’s 9/10 All-Star squad, fell 7-1 to Marysville Saturday.

The loss drops the District 11 champs into a loser-out game 4 PM Sunday against East Seattle, which fell 6-0 to Gig Harbor.

Making its second straight trip to the big dance, Central Whidbey came up a bit short, but not for lack of effort.

“We held our own and played better than last year!,” said coach Mimi Johnson.

Central hurler Chanel Sterba “pitched her heart out” while Stella Johnson collected her team’s lone RBI, plating Kaia Richmond in the third.

Marysville jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first, then added two more in the third and capped things with another two-spot in the fifth.

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On the road, and super-excited!!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , on July 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Abby Mulholland (left) and Isabelle Wells are headed to the big time. (Katy Wells photo)

   Softball sluggers Abby Mulholland (left) and Isabelle Wells are headed to the big time. (Katy Wells photo)

They’re on their way.

The Central Whidbey Little League 9/10 All-Star softball squad is packed into cars and on the road to Vancouver.

When they get there, the Pineapple Ninjas, the District 11 champs, will open the state tourney at 1 PM Saturday against the District 1 champs from Marysville.

That game will feature a reunion, since Central Whidbey coach Mimi (Iverson) Johnson and Marysville league official Natalie (Slater) Maneval were softball teammates/roommates at Coupeville High School and Skagit Valley College.

The tourney is double elimination, so Central Whidbey will play again Sunday. District 2 and 8 are on their side of the bracket.

The full state tournament runs through July 17.

To see the bracket, pop over to:

http://www.littleleaguewa.org/washington-state-little-league-tournaments/district-6-tournaments/bracket/631-9_10-Softball-State

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