Chelsi Stevens smashed the crud out of the ball Thursday in La Conner. (Julie Wheat photo)
The bats? They were barking.
Playing under blue skies in La Conner Thursday, the undefeated Coupeville High School softball squad unleashed an epic beatdown, thrashing the Braves 30-1 behind a never-ending barrage of base knocks.
The victory, coming in a game where the Wolves could have cracked triple digits if they were bullies (they’re not), lifts Aaron Lucero’s squad to 6-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 10-0 overall.
Sitting at #5 among 2B schools in the most-recent RPI rankings from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, Coupeville gets a test this Saturday, when it travels to Forks for a non-conference doubleheader.
After Thursday’s win, which was mercy-ruled after five innings and featured the Wolves giving away their final seven outs by having runners leave base early, CHS has outscored its foes 168-16.
Coupeville has beaten teams from 3A, 2A, 1A, 2B, and 1B so far, with only Oak Harbor (4-3) and Friday Harbor (7-1) managing to avoid being ten-runned.
For the Wolves, Thursday’s game, which was played in mild weather, was a chance to bounce back after “only” beating La Conner 10-0 Tuesday in the middle of a raging windstorm on the frigid Central Whidbey prairie.
Instead of having infield dirt flung into their eyeballs while trying to bat, the Smash Sisters could focus simply on the incoming ball. And then beat the ever lovin’ snot out of it.
Capri Anter had “a heck of a day,” said coach Aaron Lucero, whacking three triples. (Jackie Saia photo)
“We hit all up and down the lineup,” Aaron Lucero said. “Much better performance from Tuesday.
“We worked quite a bit on approach yesterday and they really listened. Players were absolutely raking! Really proud of all of them.”
Tuesday, the Wolves only scraped out two runs across the first two innings. Thursday, the basepaths were a much-busier place.
A walk to Sydney Van Dyke and a single into the gap from Teagan Calkins got things going in the top of the first, before Chelsi Stevens scorched an RBI single that tore off a piece of the third-baseman’s glove as it skidded by.
That was followed by Capri Anter launching the first of her three(!) triples, sending two runners sprinting for home, while Cami Van Dyke lashed a two-run single over second base as CHS piled up six runs in the opening frame.
La Conner couldn’t solve Wolf pitcher Adeline Maynes the first time around, as she recorded 13 strikeouts and threw a no-hitter, and they couldn’t solve her this time either.
While the Braves did get a base knock off the sophomore hurler Thursday, she whiffed eight in just three innings of work, before getting her final out by snagging a popped-up bunt.
With the game out of hand, Maynes handed pitching duties to Anter in the fourth, with the relief ace picking up three K’s of her own.
While La Conner couldn’t get anything going offensively, at least until it got one late run in the fifth, the Wolves were locked and loaded, throwing down an additional 12 runs in the second and another 11 in the third.
The second featured another booming triple from Anter, who promptly got drilled in the backside by a “wayward” pitch the third time she stepped to the plate, plus a two-run single from Ava Lucero and a bases-clearing three-run double off the bat of Stevens.
The next frame was more of the same, with Stevens spraying multiple RBI hits into the wild blue yonder, while Aaron Lucero was able to extensively use his bench.
Ari Vinson was one of 10 Wolves to get a hit in the win. (Jackie Saia photo)
Young guns Zayne Roos, Allie Powers, Zariyah Allen, Marina Jadwin, Emily Rains, Olivia Martin, and Ari Vinson all got at-bats in the third, with Allen and Vinson rapping base hits.
The Wolves used 17 players in the win, and up 29-0 through three innings, did their darndest not to score the magical 30th run, having runner after runner give themselves up short of making the turn home.
But sometimes destiny can’t be denied, as Sydney Van Dyke walloped a triple to the deep, dark regions of the outfield in the fifth.
When the throw back in got airmailed over the bag, she was legally obligated to finish her trot around the bags. Legally, I say!
Thursday stats:
Zariyah Allen — One single
Capri Anter — One single, three triples, one walk
Haylee Armstrong — Three walks
Teagan Calkins — Four singles, one walk
Emma Cushman — One single
Ava Lucero — Two singles, one walk
Olivia Martin— One walk
Adeline Maynes — One single, two walks
Zayne Roos — One walk
Chelsi Stevens — Two singles, two doubles
Cami Van Dyke — Three singles, one double
Sydney Van Dyke — One single, one triple, two walks
Ari Vinson — One single
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Coupeville Sports 