Veronica Crownover with aunt Stacy Evans, a former softball slugger who flew out from Pennsylvania to see her niece play for the first time. (Kelly Crownover photo)
Steeler Nation was in the house.
Having traveled out from Pennsylvania, home of the only NFL team to truly matter, former softball slugger Stacy Evans was greeted with surprisingly nice weather as she watched niece Veronica Crownover play in person for the first time ever.
Wielding the mitt her aunt used during a 15-year career on the diamond “back in the day,” the Coupeville Middle School 8th grader had her usual stellar game Thursday, using her superior height and reach to continually pull throws out of the dirt at first base.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite enough to lift her South Central Sox little league squad to a win.
The Sox, who number four Coupeville girls on a roster largely drawn from South Whidbey, fell 5-4 to Oak Harbor.
Crownover’s Cow Town teammates, one of whom had her own visiting family in the stands, all chipped in with solid games.
Ema Smith, whose uncle had popped in from Montana for the game, swatted a pair of singles, stole a base and made a nice catch on a pop fly to retire the side in the seventh.
Fellow Wolves Tamika Nastali (single, stolen base) and Sarah Wright (three hits, three RBI and a gorgeous snag on a wicked liner at third while playing on an injured knee) also made their presences felt.
Coupeville Sports 