Teagan Calkins? Born to be a star, baby! (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
“This group will not just phone it in, EVER!”
Softball season is back, complete with the usual rain, wind, and Kevin McGranahan’s belief in his rock-em, sock-em diamond warriors.
With 97 career wins in the bank, and seeking a second trip to state, the Coupeville High School coach is ready to come out all guns blazin’.
And he’s got the lineup to do just that, with a collection of battle-tested veterans who can kill you on offense or defense.
Juniors Madison McMillan (3B), Taylor Brotemarkle (SS), Mia Farris (OF), and Jada Heaton (OF) are back, as is super sophomore Teagan Calkins, who anchors the team while sportin’ catcher’s gear.
All can hit for power and average, and all bring plenty of experience to the diamond.
“We will use them as our leaders throughout the season and help the younger players develop into our program,” McGranahan said.
Wolf sluggers Jada Heaton (purple sweatshirt), Mia Farris (dark grey), and Taylor Brotemarkle (light grey) are ready to make a run at advancing to state.
Danica Strong, a sophomore transfer (and daughter of former CHS Athlete of the Year Danette Beckley), is a key newcomer, while a strong group of 8th graders are expected to make immediate contributions.
They would follow in the big footsteps of current freshman Haylee Armstrong, whose lethal bat and fleet feet in the outfield helped her dazzle while playing high school ball as a middle school student.
As he builds the program to compete for titles today and tomorrow, McGranahan is pleased to see a new pack of youngsters ready to rock.
“It is good to have all of them because we have no seniors this year and will be a young team,” he said. “And we will need to develop those players for next year when we have six seniors.”
As he and his assistant coaches prep for the season, McGranahan embraces the chance to combine younger players with veterans.
“The strength of our team will be its mix between youth — they don’t know what they don’t know and will go headfirst at everything — and our junior leaders that have weathered a few seasons and have seen both the league championship and also missing it by one run.
“Those experiences will help them mold this team into a contender.”
With basketball season complete, Madison McMillan returns to wrecking folks on the softball diamond.
Putting in consistent work, which McGranahan’s teams always do, will be huge.
“We will have to work at everything all season long, you can never be too ready in this game,” he said.
“We have a talented group. We are just going to be young in some positions.”
After dominating the Northwest 2B/1B League and winning titles in their first two seasons in the conference, the Wolves fell just short last season, losing the crown to Friday Harbor.
Still, CHS finished 14-6 and is 42-9 since coming back to 2B after advancing to the 1A state tourney in their final year in the classification.
“Friday Harbor will once again be our main focus as far as league play goes,” McGranahan said. “However, we can’t look past anyone, as Darrington is ready to make a move on the title if we sleep on them.
“Our team goals for this season are the same as every other sport — to win the league title and compete for a state berth.
“With that said, in order to achieve those goals, we need to improve each day and have as much fun as we can while maintaining our focus on the end goal.”
Coupeville is scheduled to play five of eight non-conference games against larger schools, while the 2B matchups are against fierce foes in Forks and Onalaska.
There’s a method to that set-up.
“This is going to be an interesting season as we have a tough non-conference schedule and should be battle tested by the end of the season,” McGranahan said.
“I can promise one thing and that is that these young ladies will be working their tails off to be ready, and if the bigger schools take us lightly, they will be in a dogfight.”
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