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Posts Tagged ‘Coop Cooper’

Vikings ace frustrates Wolves

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Coop Cooper and company need to regroup before facing league leader Mount Vernon Christian next week. (Jackie Saia photos)

Joe Stephens had a pretty impressive game Wednesday afternoon on the sun-drenched Coupeville prairie.

Unfortunately for Wolf Nation, he plays baseball for Orcas Island and not CHS.

Thus, when Stephens whiffed 16 batters in 6.2 innings of work, plus belted an over-the-fence home run, it led to the visiting Vikings collecting a 9-2 win and a season-sweep of their two-game series with the Wolves.

Now stuck in a three-game losing skid, Coupeville falls to 7-3 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 9-7 overall, with two games left on the regular season schedule.

Those come May 5 and 7, when the Wolves, who sit a half-game up on Orcas (7-4) in the battle for second place, square off with league leader Mount Vernon Christian (8-0).

When Coupeville takes the field against the Hurricanes, they’ll be hoping for a higher-charged offense than the one on display Wednesday afternoon.

Held to just two hits by Stephens, the Wolves also got five batters on board thanks to walks, but were outdone by Orcas, which had eight base knocks and 11 free passes.

Six errors in the field didn’t help either for Steve Hilborn’s squad.

Still, the game was tight for two innings, with the teams knotted up at 1-1, before Orcas began to pull away.

Aiden O’Neill thumped a three-bagger against Orcas.

Coupeville got on the board in the second thanks to the big bat and fleet feet of Aiden O’Neill, who socked a triple to right field before stealing home to send the crowd into a tizzy.

That was where the offense stalled out for CHS however, as Orcas tacked on two runs in the third and a game-busting four in the fourth to go up 7-1.

The tally which broke the tie was a home run belted over the left field fence by Stephens, who was intentionally walked the next three times he came to the plate.

The Wolves finally got a run back in the fourth, with walks to Chase Anderson and Camden Glover starting a brief rally, but a prime opportunity failed in the fifth, with Stephens picking up an inning-ending strikeout to escape a brief bases-loaded jam.

While they didn’t match the totals of their Vikings rival, Wolf pitchers Glover and Anderson did combine for 10 strikeouts, with both seniors picking up five K’s while on the mound.

 

Wednesday stats:

Chase Anderson — Two walks
Camden Glover — One walk
Riley Lawless — One single
Aiden O’Neill — One triple, one walk
Trent Thule — One walk

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They dazzle, they delight, they win

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 26, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Coop Cooper loves the taste of sweet, sweet victory. (Jackie Saia photos)

Big-time players make big-time plays.

In related news, Aiden O’Neill and Coop Cooper fully embrace the spotlight.

The duo came up with huge plays in the game’s final inning Thursday, propelling the Coupeville High School baseball squad to a come-from-behind 10-8 victory on Friday Harbor.

The victory, the second in as many days against one of their true die-hard rivals, lifts the Wolf diamond men to 2-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 3-1 overall.

It didn’t come easily, but that just makes the taste of victory even sweeter.

In a game where the two teams exchanged leads all afternoon, Coupeville capped a nearly three-hour rumble by breaking an 8-8 tie in the top of the seventh, before holding on for desperate life in the bottom half of the frame.

With the score knotted up, the Wolves had Leo Rodriguez on third and Chase Anderson bouncing on second with two outs when Cooper ambled to the plate.

Picking his moment, the CHS senior walloped a game-busting two-run double, picking up his second extra-base hit of the game, and giving sophomore hurler Carson Grove a lead to hold onto heading to the mound in the bottom half of the inning.

Friday Harbor thought it had the potential for a comeback of its own, getting the first two batters aboard before a Wolverine sent a long shot soaring to deep left field.

Aiden O’Neill is an assassin at the plate and in the field.

Enter O’Neill, the ultimate gamer, a dude who has fought through numerous injuries with grace and grit over the last four years while playing football, basketball, and baseball for the Wolves.

That he was on the field after the pain he has endured is an accomplishment.

But O’Neill isn’t here to just stand around and watch the grass grow.

He’s here to dazzle and delight and make dang sure you’ll remember his name long after he graduates and his younger siblings are following in his massive footsteps.

So, baseball went airborne like a missile. And the unflappable O’Neill promptly went to work.

In the words of CHS assistant coach Jon Roberts:

“Aiden made a Sports Center catch! Absolutely pounded ball to deep left field, he got on his horse, chased it down and launched himself.

“Horizontally stretched out as far as he could and made the catch, came up, threw it to shortstop as a cut, who threw it to second base to tag out the advancing runner. Double play!

“I’m telling you, it was an absolute holy shit play! (Assistant coach) Morgan (Payne) knocked the scorebook out of my hand up into the air and I caught it like I was going after a touchdown catch!”

While two outs on one play were huge, the Wolves needed three to clinch the W.

To which the young guy, one Carson Grove, looked at his veteran teammates and said “I got this, old dudes. Sit down.”

And promptly punched out the final batter, recording his third strikeout in three innings of relief work to set off the celebration.

The wild finale capped a game which veered back and forth from the start.

Coupeville got on the board with two runs in the top of the first, with a double from Anderson followed by an impressive collection of errors, balks, and wild pitches from the home team.

But as quickly as they had the lead, the Wolves gave it back, surrendering four in the bottom half of the frame, with their own errors stinging.

Not to worry, things were just getting started, however.

CHS shot back ahead 6-4 in the second with its own four-run burst, with a bunt single(!) from Rodriguez the deadliest hit, before the rivals went back to flicking each other with jabs.

Trent Thule: “Pardon me ladies, I have to go hurt the baseball now.”

Friday Harbor cut the margin to 6-5, Coupeville answered with an RBI single from O’Neill to get back to 7-5, the Wolverines cinched things up at 7-7, then Trent Thule punched an RBI single to plate Grove and make it 8-7.

But since everyone loves a bit of angina, it couldn’t be that simple.

Pushing a run across in the bottom of the sixth to get even one final time, Friday Harbor had two runners on with just one out.

Refusing to buckle, Grove responded by whiffing a perplexed Wolverine, then getting another one to weakly bounce the ball back to the mound for a good old-fashioned 1-3 putout at first.

Cue the magic and the mania of the seventh inning and cue another win for Steve Hilborn’s Coupeville hardball heroes, who are proving to be nicely resilient.

 

Thursday stats:

Chase Anderson — Two singles, one double
Coop Cooper — Two doubles, two walks
Camden Glover — Four walks
Carson Grove — One walk
Riley Lawless — Two walks
Aiden O’Neill — One single
Leo Rodriguez — One single, two walks
Trent Thule — One single, two walks

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Hardball trio earn All-League honors

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on May 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville senior Landon Roberts, ready to make a dash for home. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

They represented.

Coupeville High School landed three All-Conference honorees when Northwest 2B/1B League baseball coaches tabbed the best players of the spring.

Wolf senior Landon Roberts and junior Camden Glover were picked as First-Team All-League selections, with junior Coop Cooper earning Second-Team status.

The veteran trio were leaders on a very-young CHS hardball squad which went 6-13 overall, 5-7 in league play.

All three pitched for the Wolves, while also manning other positions when they weren’t on the mound.

Roberts and Glover both did stints at catcher for a program which only had 11 players this season, as well as playing in the infield.

When Cooper wasn’t chucking strikes, he was also an active infielder, with all three standing tall at the plate, providing an offensive spark for Steve Hilborn’s squad.

Glover led CHS with a .380 batting average, 18 RBI, and six doubles, while Roberts hit .356 with a team-high 21 base hits.

On the mound, Glover (66), Cooper (61), and Roberts (54) paced the Wolves in strikeouts, with Cooper leading the team in starts.

Camden Glover (17) and Coop Cooper helped anchor a CHS baseball team which was short on players this season.

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Cooper flexes, Wolves stumble

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on May 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Coop Cooper smacked a home run Thursday on Orcas Island. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

All or nothing.

The Coupeville High School baseball squad only collected two hits Thursday on Orcas Island, but they were both big time shots.

Coop Cooper cranked a two-run home run over the fence in centerfield — the first out-of-the-park tater for the Wolves this year — while Landon Roberts missed going yard by about five feet, settling for a ground-rule double.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, there wasn’t enough other offense, and too many errors on defense, as they fell 12-2 in a game mercy-ruled in the bottom of the fifth.

The loss drops Coupeville to 5-5 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 6-10 overall.

Next up is a palate cleanser Saturday, when Steve Hilborn’s team travels to Langley to clash with South Whidbey in a non-conference tilt.

After that, the Wolves close the regular season with two against current league leader Mount Vernon Christian as they chase a playoff berth.

Riley Lawless awaits a throw in an earlier game.

Thursday’s game, coming on the heels of a razor-close loss to Orcas in Cow Town Tuesday, was a tense one for three-and-a-half innings.

The Vikings pushed a run across in the bottom of the first, after Roberts kicked off the game with his double, only to be stranded at third.

But the Wolves held tough, with freshman pitcher Carson Grove holding Orcas down, and that gave Cooper a chance to be a hero.

Leo Rodriguez was aboard thanks to a walk, when Coupeville made its move in the top of the third.

Cooper’s blast pushed the visitors ahead 2-1, though the Vikings knotted things back up at 2-2 in the bottom half of the frame.

Unfortunately for the Wolves, they went seven up and seven down after the home run, while having one really rough inning in the field.

Orcas exploded for eight runs in its half of the fourth, using a mix of base knocks and CHS errors, and effectively took control of things.

Coupeville finished with eight errors on the day, while the Vikings played error-free ball themselves.

From there, two more runs in the bottom of the fifth pushed the lead to 10 runs, and the mercy rule brought things to an early end.

Grove and Roberts combined to whiff six Orcas hitters.

 

Thursday stats:

Coop Cooper — One home run
Riley Lawless — One walk
Landon Roberts — One double
Leo Rodriguez — One walk

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Hardball heroes notch first wins

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , on April 10, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Diamond men Coop Cooper (16) and Carson Grove congratulate each other. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

What a difference a change in the calendar makes.

Back from spring break, the Coupeville High School baseball squad hit the diamond Thursday and delivered its best performances of the season.

Snapping a season-opening six-game losing streak in which they were outscored 63-3, the Wolves found their offensive groove while sweeping a doubleheader against visiting Darrington.

Winning 4-1 behind a masterful pitching performance from Coop Cooper, then running up the score in a 14-5 romp in game #2, CHS gets to 2-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 2-6 overall.

How the day played out:

 

Game #1:

Cooper was on fire while prowling a windy prairie, holding Darrington to just a single hit while whiffing a season-high 16 batters.

Darrington actually scratched out the game’s first run in the top of the first, thanks to an error, a steal, and a passed ball, but that was it for the Loggers.

The Wolves knotted things up at 1-1 in their half of the first, thanks to Landon Roberts mashing a triple and getting his jersey dirty with a sprawl in the dirt.

The senior slugger scampered home a batter later, scoring off of an RBI groundout by freshman Carson Grove, and the game stayed tied until the third.

From there, Coupeville pushed across a run in three consecutive innings to give Cooper a fighting chance.

Camden Glover plated runners in the third and fourth with RBI base hits, before Phin Rhodes capped the scoring with a run-scoring base knock of his own in the bottom of the fifth.

Trailing 4-1, Darrington had a shot to get back in the game, loading the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth.

To which Cooper and his companions said, no sir, not today.

The Wolf hurler induced a groundout to Grove at shortstop, and the fab frosh whipped a note-perfect throw to Roberts for the force-out at home.

A pop up and strikeout later and the first win of the season was all but sealed, with Cooper slamming the door in the seventh with three straight K’s.

 

Game #2:

If the opener was about pitching, so was the nightcap, just in a different way.

While Cooper was going all Nolan Ryan on the Loggers, Darrington’s pitching staff couldn’t find the plate in the second contest.

Coupeville picked up 17 walks, including having batters get plunked five times, with a number of those free passes coming with the bases loaded.

While the doubleheader was in Cow Town, game #2 was a makeup of a road game from Tuesday which was rained out, so the Wolves played as the visitors.

That enabled Steve Hilborn’s squad to get a jump on Darrington, pushing four runners across in the top of the first.

Three of those tallies came on bases-loaded walks, including Lawless — who was hit by wayward pitches four(!) times Thursday — being plunked with the bags full.

From there, the Wolves steadily pushed the lead out, tacking on two runs in the second frame and a game-busting seven scores in the fourth.

When Darrington’s hurlers weren’t amassing great gobs of walks, they were also being called for frequent balks, with Chris Zenz and Jayden Little both being sent home to score by the umps.

 

Thursday stats:

Coop Cooper — Three singles, two walks
Camden Glover — One single, one double, four walks
Carson Grove — Two singles, three walks
Riley Lawless — Four walks
Jayden Little — One double, two walks
Jesus Madrigal — One single, two walks
Phin Rhodes — One single
Landon Roberts — One single, one triple, one walk
Leo Rodriguez — One single, one walk
Trent Thule — Four walks

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