Jake Pease had multiple hits, caught and made his high school pitching debut Saturday in a road doubleheader. (John Fisken photo)
“The short story is that we ran out of pitching, and our bats found leather when theirs found grass.”
Coupeville High School JV baseball coach Chris Smith had a short bench Saturday, but he still got his Wolves to battle valiantly through a doubleheader on sunny Vashon Island.
While the varsity squad was getting damp back on Whidbey, the Wolf JV played in a relative heat wave, holding the lead in both games before falling 6-4 and 14-5 to the Pirates.
The losses drop the young guns to 1-2 on the season.
“It was a long day and a grind on the field, which is what we like,” Smith said. “I was very proud of our pitchers, who knew they were going into this doubleheader with very little to no support in relief.
“Both Nick Etzell and Elliott Johnson should be commended on their strong pitching performances,” he added. “They both made valiant efforts and pitched a good game, maintaining a Coupeville lead into the 4th and 5th inning, respectively.”
Etzell went five innings in the opener, with Gavin Knoblich coming on to throw in relief, then Johnson teamed with Knoblich and first-time pitcher Jake Pease in the nightcap.
Coupeville notched a quick two runs in the top of the first in game one and held that lead until Vashon struck for five in the bottom of the fourth.
Not content to go down easily, the Wolves got two back in the sixth, but couldn’t quite catch up.
Game two might look like a rout if you just look at the score, but it was far from that.
With Johnson in command on the mound, CHS was on top 5-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. Then Vashon struck, racking up 11 runs in a two-inning span to seal the deal.
Etzell and Pease led the way offensively for the Wolves, rapping out multiple hits, with Etzell scoring twice in both games.
“Our guys battled the whole way,” Smith said. “It was good baseball, even better than the score reflected.
“Everyone demonstrated a never-say-die attitude and we went down swinging,” he added. “Well, not literally; our last out of the second game was a strikeout looking, but you get my point.”
Coupeville played tough defense all game, with several plays bringing a smile to Smith’s face.
The Wolves pulled off a slick double play (Etzell to Pease to Kyle Rockwell) in game one, and twice gunned down runners at the plate in game two.
On both those plays, Etzell was the cutoff man and laid the ball perfectly in Cameron Dahl’s waiting glove behind the plate.
“We made some plays that demonstrated some defensive brilliance,” Smith said. “I love that!”
The hardball guru was also pleased with the hustle and effort he got from a trio of bench players — Johnny Carlson, Seth Weatherford and Gavin Straub.
“We got a lot of support and heart from our bench,” Smith said. “They stood ready in the dugout, waiting for their moment to shine and shine they did.”
Carlson “lost both of his cleats in separate strides as he stormed down the left field line after a double,” actually running out of his shoes.
Weatherford “made a huge out in right catching a hard line drive that he charged in to gobble up” and Straub “put the bat on the ball in both of his AB’s and did everything humanly possible to reach safely.”
Ulrik Wells, Jacob Zettle, James Vidoni and Shane Losey rounded out the Wolf roster, with Wells smacking a single in game two.
While he wanted to come away with wins, Smith couldn’t fault his team’s effort or desire.
“In the end (assistant coach) Mike (Etzell) and I walked away bummed we couldn’t squeak out a win,” he said. “But content that we played “Baseball” and part of baseball is knowing how to deal with the disappointment.
“We will move on and work to get better,” Smith added. “I was proud of this team because they delivered on our expectations for them to “Play Hard, Play Smart, Play Together and Have Fun!
“At the end of the day that is all I really ask or expect!”
