Matt Hilborn was a two-way terror Friday, whiffing all four hitters he faced and delivering a two-run single at the plate. (John Fisken photo)
Whomever decided to start the high school baseball season in March needs to be taken out and shot.
I think I comfortably speak for the limited, but loyal, fan base that watched part or all of Friday’s Coupeville vs. Sequim diamond duel — it’s too freakin’ early for this.
The prairie was damp (but not damp enough to call off the game) and cold (which makes for a lovely combo with damp…) and it took a piece of my soul with every annoying wind gust which shot up my shorts.
Now sure, we could talk about why I was stupid enough to wear shorts (I did have layers of rain-proof coats on top) or we could just ignore that fact, accept I wear shorts 24/7/365 and move on to the game itself.
Game it is, then.
As the fans exchanged the sort of dead-eyed stares common to inmates serving life sentences in prison, the visitors chipped away, racking up a series of shallow, but well-placed, hits en route to knocking off Coupeville 14-4.
Ah, but the 10-run rule — it saved you, right?
It did not.
Sequim took its sweet time getting to that margin, not scoring its final three runs until the top of the seventh, guaranteeing we would play (and watch) a full, nearly three-hour game on the unforgiving prairie.
The non-conference loss drops the Wolves to 0-2, but they have a chance to bounce right back, as they host South Whidbey at 1 PM Saturday — weather permitting.
In the early going Friday, two things looked like a certainty, but neither came to fruition.
It seemed like the rain would pick up enough to possibly wash away the game (or at least delay it), but it wasn’t to be. And Coupeville looked like it would seize the early advantage, but that also wasn’t to be.
CHS starting pitcher Hunter Smith came out en fuego, whiffing the first hitter then picking the second batter off of first base after he singled, rifling a crisp throw neatly into the waiting glove of Kory Score.
The Wolves put their first two hitters on base in the bottom of the first, with Smith beating out an infield single and Joey Lippo reaching on a error.
Two quick outs slowed things down, but Matt Hilborn loaded the bags after being awarded first on an interference call by the plate ump.
Looking to break through with the game’s first RBI, Score rapped a hard shot up the middle, only to see the Sequim second baseman make a nice play to knock it down and throw him out by a step.
Sequim started to turn the game in the second inning, scraping together four runs on a series of hits that found a perfect landing spot, narrowly going over the head of Wolf infielders before biting grass quickly in front of oncoming CHS outfielders.
Smith ended the run with a double play, spearing a soft liner back to the mound, then whirling to double up a runner who had jumped off of third.
Unfortunately, Coupeville’s bats took a bit of a break in the second and third, then Sequim dropped a five-spot in the fourth to bust the lead out to 9-0.
Facing a very real chance of being ten-runned, the Wolves fought back with their best offensive work in the bottom of the fourth.
And they did it despite starting with two outs and nobody on base.
Wolf catcher Taylor Consford, who was a rock behind the plate while working with four different pitchers, whacked a solid single to center to kick the comeback off.
After a walk to Smith, a couple of stolen bases and a passed ball, Joey Lippo crunched a chopper that caught infield dirt and kicked high and hard enough to allow him to beat the ball out while both of his teammates crossed home.
Not content to stop there, the Wolves loaded the bases on walks to Clay Reilly and Julian Welling, setting up Matt Hilborn to join Lippo on the RBI express.
The sophomore shortstop laced a two-run single to right field and the rally caps were starting to get turned around.
But Sequim escaped when its right fielder ran down a long blast off of Score’s bat, and Coupeville rarely threatened after that.
The Wolves did get their first two runners on in the sixth, thanks to Smith getting plunked and Lippo eking out a walk.
But a bit of miscommunication on the base-paths resulted in Smith being hung out to dry at home as part of a rally-killing double play.
On the mound, Coupeville’s best work came from pitcher #3, Hilborn, who whiffed all four hitters he faced, using all 23 of his pitches to maximum effect.
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