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Posts Tagged ‘doubleheader sweep’

Our bats are louder than yours!

Posted in Little League, Softball, tagged , , , , on May 15, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“Give me my bat. Mama has to go wreck some folks.” (Jackie Saia photos)

They brought the big lumber with them.

With all 12 girls on the roster collecting at least one hit Saturday, the Central Whidbey Little League Juniors softball squad made life tough for South Skagit 1’s pitchers.

Combining to pound out 33 hits in seven innings of action, the Hammerheads swept to 23-10 and 18-2 wins in Mount Vernon.

With the doubleheader sweep, Central Whidbey runs its winning streak to four straight, and will carry a 4-2 record into a road game with arch-rival North Whidbey Monday night.

Chloe Marzocca swung a big bat Saturday, crushing a triple, while also pitching Central Whidbey to a win.

Everything was humming for the Hammerheads during their doubleheader sweep.

Central Whidbey hurlers Chloe Marzocca and Teagan Calkins — with the latter making her debut in the pitcher’s circle — both whiffed five hitters, while their defense stood up strongly behind them.

“Chloe pitched a solid game against a pretty hard-hitting South Skagit Riptide lineup,” said Central Whidbey coach Fred Farris.

“Calkins really settled in and pitched great in game two.”

When the ball was put in play, the Hammerhead defenders put good glove on ball, snuffing out any potential rallies.

Savina Wells, using her long reach to her advantage, snagged a liner at second base, then doubled up the runner drifting off the bag at first in the day’s top defensive dazzler.

But it was the Hammerhead bats which truly captivated the audience.

“I got one hit, and I’m coming back for more, sister!!”

Seven Wolves bashed an extra-base hit, led by Wells, who smacked a double and triple, Madison McMillan, who bopped a pair of two-baggers, and Marzocca, who nailed “a rope to deep left” for a resounding triple.

“Everyone hit the ball hard!,” said a proud Fred Farris.

That included the first hits of the season for Allison Nastali, who rejoined her diamond squad after the end of her high school volleyball season.

Mia Farris, using the ancient arts handed down by her dad, “laid down a perfect squeeze bunt” to plate Calkins, while Candace Meek and Anna Steckman both collected their first base-knocks in a Hammerheads uniform.

Anna Steckman is a made woman, after collecting her first base-knock as a Hammerhead.

 

Stats for the day:

Taylor Brotemarkle (3 runs, 4 hits, 5 RBI, 1 walk)
Teagan Calkins (6 runs, 2 hits, 3 walks)
Mia Farris (6 runs, 4 hits, 3 RBI, 2 walks)
Jada Heaton (5 runs, 3 hits, 4 RBI, 1 walk)
Katie Marti (4 runs, 4 hits, 4 RBI, 1 walk)
Chloe Marzocca (1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk)
Madison McMillan (6 runs, 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2 walks)
Candace Meek (2 runs, 1 hit, 3 RBI, 1 walk)
Allison Nastali (2 hits, 3 RBI)
Anna Steckman (1 hit, 1 RBI)
Mayleen Weatherford (1 run, 2 hits, 5 RBI)
Savina Wells (7 runs, 5 hits, 1 RBI, 2 walks)

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Many girls, one dream

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on March 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »

River Ozturk, the pride of Turkey, slashed a gorgeous two-run single Saturday as Coupeville softball clinched a league title. (Jackie Saia photos)

Everyone plays.

Everyone contributes.

Everyone celebrates.

As the Coupeville High School softball players belted out their theme song one final time this season, serenading their home fans moments before everyone stormed the line for cupcakes, glimmers of sun poked through the cloudy prairie sky.

On a Saturday afternoon in which CHS coach Kevin McGranahan managed to get 23 girls varsity playing time, the Wolves accomplished much.

They bounced visiting Darrington 8-6 and 16-4 to claim a sweet doubleheader sweep on Senior Night.

They rolled to a 9-0 record in this pandemic-shortened season, with road trips to Friday Harbor and La Conner left on the schedule.

They gave their veterans a superb send-off, while also offering their young players — many of whom lost a season to COVID last spring — a chance to learn under fire.

And, they emphatically clinched the Northwest 2B/1B League title, meaning that McGranahan, wife Justine, and Ron Wright have led the Wolf diamond program to conference crowns in three different locations.

The NWL title joins ones the trio won in the 1A Olympic League and 1A North Sound Conference.

While the pandemic will prevent Coupeville, or any teams, from pursuing a playoff run, Wolf fans can bask in the glow of a softball program which is winning the right way now, and is set up for a bright future for years to come.

How Saturday played out:

 

Game 1:

Kevin McGranahan is a gamblin’ man.

With Coupeville up 6-0 after one inning, then 8-1 at the end of two, he liberally substituted, including pulling his battery — fireball-flinging pitcher Izzy Wells and rock-solid catcher Mollie Bailey — at least for awhile.

But then Darrington got really, really stingy on defense, and mounted a comeback on offense, while McGranahan gave his future stars a chance to face mounting pressure.

To a point.

Wells and Bailey returned in the final moments, slamming the door shut on a game which provided valuable lessons to Coupeville’s young guns.

Things started off fully in favor of the Wolves, with seniors Chelsea Prescott, Ivy Leedy, Lacy McCraw-Shirron, Heidi Meyers, Coral Caveness, and Bailey all in the starting lineup.

After Wells set Darrington’s first three hitters down on strikeouts, Coupeville went to work, sending 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first.

McCraw-Shirron got things going, zipping down to first after a third strike got away from the Logger catcher, and soon came around to score.

From there, the Wolves used five walks, a Darrington error, and timely hits from Wells and Bella Whalen to blow things open.

Whalen’s base-knock was a bomb — a high, arcing two-run double which, for a hot second or two, looked like it might clear the fence for a round-tripper.

CHS tacked on two more runs in the second, courtesy an RBI double to straight-away center from Bailey, and an RBI single ripped back up the middle by Meyers.

But then the Wolf offense vanished for a bit, at least when it came to scoring.

Coupeville put runners on base in three of the next four innings, only to see Darrington escape each time.

Maya Nottingham had an eventful trip (mostly) around the bases, getting plunked on the foot by a pitch to earn a walk, then blasted by a foul ball off of Prescott’s hyper-charged bat while crouched at third.

She came out of the game after that, with pinch-runner Audrianna Shaw eventually stranded after the Loggers turned a slick double play moments later.

The Wolves had two on in the fourth, after base-knocks from Bailey and Whalen, but like Wells after she walked in the sixth, home base stayed cold and distant to them.

Which was OK, as Wells continued to blaze through Darrington’s lineup.

When Allie Lucero made her high school pitching debut in the top of the fifth, the sophomore pulled off a scoreless inning, getting three different batters to pop up to Prescott at short.

The sixth inning was the stumbling block, however, as some defensive confusion and a lil’ artful bunting from Darrington allowed the Loggers to mount a five-run rally, cutting the lead back to just two runs.

Re-enter Wells to the pitching circle, and exit her foes, as she slammed the door shut, recording the final five outs, including three strikeouts to give her 12 K’s in the game.

 

Game 2:

Time for a new debut.

Maya Lucero, twin sister of Allie, got the pitching start, allowing Wells some time to rest in the shade.

The fourth Wolf pitcher to see game action this season — Gwen Gustafson has also tossed four innings — Maya opened with two perfect innings, struck out three with a little heat of her own, and went the distance in a game halted after five innings.

She also got to watch as her fellow sophomore, Jill Prince, pulled off one of the best defensive plays seen on the Coupeville diamond this spring.

Bouncing on her toes at third, the granddaughter of Murph Cross reacted like a pro when a Darrington hitter lashed a wicked liner in her direction.

Throwing out her mitt, Prince caught 97% of the ball, only to have the speed and fury of the ball carry it up and off her glove.

But, as the ball shot away, headed towards the Wolf dugout, and hearts sank across the prairie, the rising star immediately flung her non-glove hand out, somehow snatching the angry ball right back out of the air before it could reach the exit.

The pretty, pretty play brought a roar of approval from Prince’s coaches, then from a pack of Wolves who stormed their young teammate, heaping praise on her.

Jill Prince, master of the web gem.

At the plate, Coupeville could do no wrong, punching in nine runs in the bottom of the first, before adding four more in the second to put the game on ice early.

Bailey, Caveness (during one of the few at-bats on which she wasn’t plunked by a wayward pitch), and Shaw all had big hits, while the Wolves took advantage of Darrington’s pitching staff losing contact with the strike zone.

On a day in which 18 of Coupeville’s 23 active players reached base, two in particular stood out.

Bailey, who is part of a farming family which stretches back through eons of prairie history, was in her final moments on her hometown field.

From the little girl with long braids who used to hang out in the stands while older sister McKayla thumped big hits, to the brilliant young woman (still with long braids) now terrorizing opposing pitchers, Mollie has always been Mollie.

There’s little doubt she’s a Bailey, with a lot of Engle tossed in for good measure, but she has always marched to her own drum beat.

Literally, as she’s a drummer.

Mollie Bailey, a bona fide prairie legend, went out like a boss, smacking four doubles in her final appearance on the CHS diamond.

Saturday, she went out the way I hoped she would — Mollie being Mollie.

That meant whacking four doubles across two games, while still finding time to lean over the fence and tell her rooting section, “Dude, I have had to like pee for the whole game.”

Meanwhile, River Ozturk is a newcomer to Cow Town, USA, a foreign exchange student from Turkey who had never played softball before pulling on a Coupeville uniform.

Saturday, though, she also got her moment, coming to the plate twice, and reaching base both times.

The first trip, she got a traditional American welcome, as a wayward pitch smacked into her body, earning her a walk.

Next time up, shocking her coaches to the core, she swung like the second coming of Prescott — a lifelong diamond masher — ripping a two-run single to right field as Ron Wright punched the air in approval.

It was that kind of day, with a little something for everyone.

Bailey led the hit parade with her four two-baggers, while Whalen and Prescott added two hits apiece.

Toss in singles from Wells, Shaw, Caveness (who also had five walks), Ozturk, and Meyers, and the base-knock machine was chuggin’ along.

Also reaching base via walks were Sofia Peters, Ivy Leedy, Nottingham, Karyme Castro, Prince, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, Maya Lucero, Mckenna Somes, and Melanie Navarro.

Allison Nastali, Jackie Contreras, Lily Leedy, and Italian foreign exchange student Elisa Caroppo also saw playing time in the home finale.

And a final note of tribute to Prescott, who, along with Bailey, has the most seniority of Coupeville’s seniors.

Chelsea Prescott, enjoying every moment.

A splendid three-sport athlete who spent her little league days on the baseball diamond before transitioning to softball in high school, Chelly is as talented as any athlete to pass through CHS in recent years.

But I hope she is also remembered for the joy she takes in playing, which was never more evident than when she bounced from her home at shortstop to play catcher for a few innings.

Prescott asked her coach for the chance to try something new, and practically danced back on the field when McGranahan told her she could stay behind the plate.

Talking to herself after each pitch, sometimes laughing at her limited knowledge of the position (yet picking up a lot of the nuances super-fast), she would fire the ball back into Maya Lucero’s mitt, a huge smile visible under the mask.

Prescott’s bat, her wheels, her glove, and her fire, have assured she will be remembered as one of the best to wear the CHS softball uniform.

But Saturday, in her final moments in front of the fans who watched her develop into a star, she reverted back to just being a kid having fun.

What a nice way to exit, for her, and her sisters from other misters.

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Rollin’ to perfection

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on March 23, 2021| 1 Comment »

Kylie Van Velkinburgh was one of three Wolves to collect six or more hits Tuesday, as undefeated Coupeville shredded Orcas Island pitching during a doubleheader sweep. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Get off the tracks or get run over.

Back in action after losing a season to the pandemic, the Coupeville High School softball squad has returned with a vengeance.

Start with fireball-flinging hurler Izzy Wells, toss in a lineup chock full of booming bats, sprinkle with some opportunistic defense, and it’s little wonder the Wolves sit atop the Northwest 2B/1B League with a flawless 7-0 record.

Coupeville’s latest wins came Tuesday, as Kevin McGranahan’s team of assassins swept a doubleheader on Orcas Island, capturing 16-4 and 12-6 wins.

“So we started hitting as soon as we got off the bus and never looked back,” said the CHS diamond guru. “Bella (Whalen) and Chelsea (Prescott) had great games at the plate and were great leaders on the field.

“We are playing good softball, but, of course, we have some stuff to work on. On to Concrete this Friday.”

The Wolves have back-to-back games to finish off this week, following up that road trip Friday with a home game Saturday against Darrington.

That latter game is Senior Night, with first pitch set for 1 PM.

How Tuesday played out:

 

Game 1:

One game, three stages.

First, a somewhat-surprising opening, as Coupeville fell behind 2-0 after an inning of play, a rare deficit for this high-flying squad.

Second, the Wolves chipped away, retaking the lead in the top of the second, then stretching it out (slightly) to 6-2.

Third, and finally, total freakin’ domination, as CHS went off for five-run explosions in both of the final two frames, sending the lead into double-digits while still getting to play a full seven innings.

The “rally” began with three runs in the second, then two more in the third.

Whalen, who was wailin’ on the ball all day, ripped a one-out single, setting off a string of four straight hits for the Wolves, with Gwen Gustafson, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, and Maya Lucero all dropping balls between fielders.

Next time around, Mollie Bailey slapped a single, before Wells and Whalen smoked back-to-back doubles, with the latter picking up a pair of RBI as the lead moved out to 5-2.

A Gustafson RBI single in the fifth tacked on another run, but the Wolves saved the best part of their 25-hit assault in the opener for the game’s final two innings.

The hits came fast and furious in the sixth and seventh, with Bailey’s double to straight-away center and Audrianna Shaw’s laser shot, which destroyed an Orcas glove, vying for most explosive.

While all nine CHS starters had at least two hits in the game, sophomores Gustafson and Whalen put a little extra shine on things.

Gustafson raked four singles, while Whalen went slightly berserk, torching Viking pitching for five hits, including a thunderous triple and a pair of still-pretty-loud doubles.

 

Game 2:

After failing to score in the first inning in the opener, Coupeville’s high-octane offense actually went scoreless until the top of the third in the night-cap.

The Wolves had runners on base early, but couldn’t get them around the bags.

They stranded Coral Caveness after she whacked a one-out double to left in the first, then frittered away Whalen and Heidi Meyers after they connected on back-to-back singles in the second.

Wells was on point in the pitcher’s circle, however, keeping the game scoreless until her team’s bats popped back to life.

That happened in the third, as the Wolves first five hitters all reached base, with three scoring.

Singles from Shaw and Van Velkinburgh set the table, before big boppers Prescott (an RBI double) and Bailey (a two-run single) sent their teammates scampering for home.

The game took on the look of a blowout as Coupeville plated six more in the fourth, coming on the heels of Wells firing off another 1-2-3 inning.

While the Orcas book lost a run somewhere that frame, it shouldn’t be too hard to find if the Vikings go back and look for it.

This time, eight of 10 hitters reached base, with only a well-timed double play by Orcas, off of a wicked Wells liner back to the mound, helping the Vikings escape.

Shaw dumped an RBI single in front of a defender, with Allie Lucero sliding under the tag at home to kick things off.

Runs also came in courtesy a bases-loaded walk by Bailey, a hard smash by Whalen which was booted at third, a Meyers RBI single, a titanic RBI double to dead center from Jill Prince, and a passed ball which allowed Gustafson to sprint home.

One-two-three-four-five-six. Go count ’em a second time, overly-defensive Orcas announcer.

Up 9-0, and not 8-0, the Wolves gave some back, with Orcas eking out three runs apiece in both the fourth and fifth.

But Coupeville also put up its own three-spot in the fifth, with Prescott’s two-run single the defining blow, to keep the final margin at 12-6.

After Wells gunned down the Vikings 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the game, which was already official, was called for darkness.

Since softball was humming along, and the two school’s baseball teams still managed to play for another 20 minutes or so to reach the official end of their second game, I kind of agree with the Orcas announcer that the umps could have “let them play.”

But, both coaches seemed fine with the decision, knowing if Coupeville ran off a long offensive explosion in the top of the seventh, Orcas would never see the plate again.

On the day, Whalen crunched a team-high seven base-knocks, including three of her team’s seven extra-base hits.

Shaw (6), Van Velkinburgh (6), Bailey (5), Prescott (4), Gustafson (4), Caveness (3), Maya Lucero (2), Wells (2), Meyers (1), Prince (1), and Allie Lucero (1) all added hits, as every Wolf to play had at least one.

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Have runs, will deliver

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Jonathan Valenzuela collected a team-high eight hits Tuesday, as Coupeville swept a doubleheader from Orcas Island. (Photos by Morgan White)

Scoring was not an issue.

Pounding the ball to all fields Tuesday, the Coupeville High School baseball team threw down 39 hits and 36 runs, rolling to a doubleheader sweep on Orcas Island.

After collecting 16-8 and 20-1 wins, the Wolves sit at a tidy 5-2 on the season.

Now, the Coupeville bashers get to cool their collective heels for a bit, not playing again until the home finale next Tuesday, March 30.

That will be Senior Night for the lone Wolf 12th grader, Daniel Olson. Then he and his teammates wrap their pandemic-shortened season with three road games.

The trip to Orcas Tuesday was a long run, and even with the second game mercy-ruled after five innings, the teams raced rapidly-encroaching darkness to finish things.

But they did, sending CHS coach Will Thayer and his men back to the ferry with an extra spring in their step.

Xavier Murdy had a pair of doubles during a five-hit afternoon.

How the day played out:

 

Game 1:

Coupeville fell behind early, but never flinched, collecting 14 hits en route to scoring in five of seven innings.

The heart of the order was on fire, with the 2-3-4-5 hitters combining to account for all but one of those base-knocks.

The biggest bats in the opener were swung by Scott Hilborn and Sage Sharp, who each rapped out four hits apiece, with Hilborn crushing a triple.

Sharp, who reached base all five times he went to the plate in the opener, also came around to score all five times, while John Valenzuela added two doubles and a single, scoring three times.

Daniel Olson spanked a pair of singles, Xavier Murdy rounded out the hit attack with a one-bagger of his own, with Hawthorne Wolfe (3), starting pitcher Cody Roberts (2), Hilborn (2), and freshman Cole White (1) combining to tap home multiple times.

Coupeville put up three runs in the first, a single score in the third, then closed with a 3-6-3 tally across the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.

While offense carried the day, there was a defensive gem, as well.

Peyton Caveness, busting his tail in right field, made a fairly-spectacular running, diving catch to blunt an Orcas rally, even earning some appreciative oohs and ahs from the rival fans.

 

Game 2:

Every ball Orcas threw, Coupeville blasted right back.

Or at least it probably seemed that way, with nine different Wolf hitters collecting a base-knock, and nine of Coupeville’s 25 hits being of the extra-base variety.

Wolfe and Valenzuela had five hits each, with the former bombing a trio of two-baggers and the latter settling for a pair of doubles.

Olson, who got the win on the mound, had a long triple, and might have gone for the inside the park homerun if the score wasn’t so lopsided.

Meanwhile, Murdy (2) and Hilborn (1) teamed up for three doubles, with young guns Nick Guay and Caveness adding base-knocks as CHS ran up a 2-1-5-5-7 run tally across five innings.

Also seeing playing time for Coupeville were Miles Davidson and Andrew Williams, as Thayer shuffled his lineup for maximum appeal.

On the day, Valenzuela led the boomin’ bats, registering eight hits across two games, while Olson and Hilborn had six each.

Also putting some good “wood” on the ball were heavy hitters Wolfe (5), Murdy (5), Sharp (5), Roberts (2), Guay (1), and Caveness (1).

Cody Roberts and Co. did this a lot Tuesday, scoring 36 runs.

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Win with power, win with grace

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Daniel Olson had five hits Friday as Coupeville swept a doubleheader from visiting La Conner. (Photos by Morgan White)

It’s a tricky balancing game.

When you face an opponent which is obviously scuffling along, trying to build with younger, even middle-school aged athletes, there is a temptation to go beat the snot out of them.

To his credit, new Coupeville High School baseball coach Will Thayer did not do that Friday afternoon.

Yes, his Wolves swept visiting La Conner 12-2 and 21-0 in games shut down after five innings by the mercy rule, but it could have been much, much worse.

Instead, Thayer and his hardball aces put both games on ice, then did whatever was necessary to not rub La Conner’s face into the dirt.

From having his best hitters work on their bunting, instead of just swinging away, curtailing an aggressive running game once they were ahead, and getting every one of his 16 players into action, the afternoon will go down as a win in more ways than one.

With the sweep, Coupeville improves to 2-1 during this pandemic-shortened season, with six of its final seven games on the road.

First up is a trip to Darrington Tuesday to face the Loggers.

With Concrete cancelling its season due to a lack of players, Coupeville’s only remaining home game is March 30 against Mount Vernon Christian.

While Wolf fans won’t see their squad in person for almost three weeks, Friday’s sweep will leave positive memories.

CHS hurlers Cody Roberts and Scott Hilborn combined to throw a no-hitter on the afternoon, striking out 21 La Conner hitters.

Cody Roberts struck out nine hitters while working three innings.

Game 1:

The opener was actually close for the first 40 minutes or so, with Coupeville clinging to a 3-2 lead entering the bottom of the third.

Roberts struck out nine hitters through three innings on the mound, but was stung by a couple of walks and a crucial error which allowed two unearned runs to scamper home.

The Wolves plated two of their own in the bottom of the first, thanks to singles from Hawthorne Wolfe, Xavier Murdy, and Daniel Olson, with Olson’s laser beam back up the middle ripping the glove off the La Conner pitcher’s hand.

That got a burst of applause from girlfriend (and Coupeville Sports Hall o’ Famer) Lucy Sandahl, and signaled the start of a strong day for Olson, the lone Wolf senior.

Murdy came back around to loft a towering sac fly to center to stake CHS to a 3-0 lead.

Then, after the rare defensive lapse gave La Conner brief hope, the Wolves emphatically stamped out the flickering flame.

Coupeville tacked on two runs in their half of the third, with Olson chopping an RBI single which brought Jonathan Valenzuela around, before Roberts added an RBI groundout of his own.

With Hilborn taking the mound in the fourth, the sun may have been beaming down on a beautiful afternoon, but the lights went out.

The Wolf sophomore retired all six batters he faced in game one, punching out the first five on strikeouts, before ending things by getting his last hitter to pop up weakly, the ball tumbling into catcher Sage Sharp’s waiting glove.

The bottom of the fourth was an offensive bonanza for Coupeville, as it sent 10 hitters to the plate and pushed six of them across to score.

Coen Killian started things off by slicing a shot down the right field line, getting the ball to bite down in fair territory and squirt away from a madly-charging outfielder.

Sitting on second base, but just for a second or two, he quickly came around to tap home as Wolfe ripped a run-scoring single to left-center.

After that, it was a happy hit parade, as Murdy (double), Hilborn (RBI single), and Olson (two-run single) played whack-a-mole with La Conner’s pitching.

Killian and Wolfe reteamed in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game on a walk, a stolen base, and another RBI single.

 

Hawthorne Wolfe has bat, will hurt your pitchers.

Game 2:

More of the same, but a lot more.

Hilborn went the distance, tossing a perfect game, facing the minimum 15 La Conner hitters and closing things out just before darkness descended on Cow Town.

Seven Braves went down by strikeout, five by groundout, two on fly balls to left, and one on a soft liner to second base.

By contrast, Coupeville’s hitters put together a first inning offensive tutorial, scoring 12 runs and not getting an out until their 15th batter of the frame.

Wolfe, flexing his biceps and his wheels, led off with a double to straightaway center, before Murdy followed by dumping an infield single in front of the shortstop.

After that, eight of the next nine Wolves walked, with the lone exception, Roberts, reaching on an error.

That streak included RBI walks for newcomers Miles Davidson and Andrew Williams, as everyone showed a patient eye at the plate.

Capping the assault, Hilborn, Valenzuela, and Olson connected on consecutive run-scoring singles, and it looked like the inning might last until the light faded.

La Conner escaped however, as a fair amount of Wolf fans began to openly cheer for the visitors, who held their heads high and never complained or bitched as things crumbled.

Coupeville actually went scoreless in the second, despite two more hits, but then tacked on five runs in the third and another four in the fourth to set the final margin.

With Thayer using his full roster, everyone in a Wolf uniform got in on the good times.

Peyton Caveness came off the bench to wallop a pair of hits, mashing a double to left, then an RBI single to center, causing proud older sister Coral to scream louder than when her own CHS softball squad went to state.

Meanwhile young guns Zane Oldenstadt and Cole White both collected hard-hit singles, Gabe Reed scored his first run as a Wolf, and Nick Guay and Seth Woollet got quality at-bats.

Zane Oldenstadt was one of nine Wolves to have a hit on the day.

For Thayer, getting everyone in uniform on the field was the highlight of his day.

“It was great getting those other kids in there, who might not play every game,” he said. “Andrew (Williams) made some nice defensive plays, and Coen (Killian) had good at-bats.

“And our pitching looked really good today.”

Unofficially, Wolfe, Murdy, and Olson led the way, collecting five hits apiece, while Hilborn (4), Caveness (2), Valenzuela (2), White (1), Oldenstadt (1), and Killian (1) rounded out the hit parade.

As Coupeville’s players, coaches, and fans strolled to the parking lot afterwards, a nip in the air having replaced the sun of earlier, the chatter was positive.

Wolfe, still bouncing along with every step after five hours of baseball, was asked what he was doing with the rest of his Friday night.

“Gonna go play some (basket)ball!!” said the never-tired one.

And the Wolves roll on.

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