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Posts Tagged ‘extra innings’

Rally kings stun Braves

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on April 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Wolf pitchers (l to r) Landon Roberts, Camden Glover, Seth Woollet, and Coop Cooper celebrate. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

Never count ’em out.

After twice rallying from three runs down Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad forced extra innings with visiting La Conner, then KO’d the Braves on a walk-off hit.

When Camden Glover’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth hit paydirt on the prairie, it capped an improbable, but very rewarding 9-8 victory.

It also keeps the Wolves, now 3-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, just a game out of first place.

Coupeville, which is 4-7 overall heading into a trip to Forks Saturday, is tied with Friday Harbor in the NWL standings.

Those two sit a half-game behind Orcas Island (3-1) and a game back of current frontrunner Mount Vernon Christian (4-1) with half the season left to play.

Thursday’s titanic tilt went in favor of La Conner for much of the afternoon, though Coupeville kept chipping away and hanging around.

After trailing 1-0 early, the Wolves pushed two runners across in the bottom of the second to take their only lead of the game until the day’s final play.

Landon Roberts knotted the game at 1-1 on an RBI groundout, before Peyton Caveness, who leads the Wolves in most offensive categories this season, delivered an RBI single to put his team in front.

Peyton Caveness (8) fires up his team. (Jackie Saia photo)

Coupeville wouldn’t score again until the fifth, however, giving the Braves ample opportunity to surge back in front.

Four runs in the top of the third put La Conner up 5-2, but then Wolf pitchers strung together three scoreless frames to give their offense time to warm back up.

CHS notched a pair of runs in the fifth, with Steven Gonzalez, Carson Grove, and Roberts stepping up with big-time hits, before the Wolves got all the way back with a tally in the sixth.

Cole White lashed a single, stole second, scooted to third on a wild pitch, then screamed home with the tying run when La Conner once again couldn’t maintain control of the madly bouncing baseball.

Back in a 5-5 tie, the Wolves were rocking and rolling and then … gave it all right back.

The Braves smacked a pair of base hits and took advantage of a Coupeville error to plate three runners in the top of the seventh, and things looked bleak.

Until they didn’t, as the yo-yo effect the game had continued to play out in often surprising fashion.

Grove, just an 8th grader, delivered his second hit of the game to lead off Coupeville’s last stand, but was promptly erased thanks to a fielder’s choice.

The Wolves kept coming, however, with a single from Roberts and a walk to Glover keeping things interesting.

Seth Woollet skittered home on a wild pitch to cut it back to 8-6, Caveness launched a sac fly to make it 8-7, and then the game ended.

Or it should have.

White lofted a fly ball that would have been the final out, except La Conner fudged the catch, the ball popping loose from the third baseman’s glove as Glover steamed home with the tying run.

Given new life, and extra baseball, Coupeville took advantage.

Roberts, the fourth Wolf to take the mound on the day, set the Braves down in order in the top of the eighth, as the visitors went down swinging one-two-three.

“Don’t stop believing!” (Ember Light photo)

That sent the hometown heroes back to the plate with the game in their hands, and they played their final song to precision.

Woollet poked a leadoff hit, before Roberts dropped a gorgeous bunt down the third-base line, beating the throw for an infield single.

An error on the La Conner first baseman moved the winning run to third, and Glover rose to the moment, immediately punching a solid line drive to left to plate Woollet and set off a celebration.

That capped a 15-hit performance for the Wolves, with Glover and Roberts leading the way with three base knocks apiece.

Caveness and Grove each added two, with Jack Porter, White, Gonzalez, Coop Cooper, and Woollet rounding out the hit parade.

Coupeville’s pitchers combined to whiff 12 Braves, with Glover picking up six K’s to lead the way. Roberts (3), Woollet (2), and Cooper (1) also chipped in to the effort.

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Enter Sandman, exit Hurricanes

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on March 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Yohannon Sandles was raking Friday, in more ways than one. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

“BE BIG!!”

Wish granted.

Rallying from four runs down late Friday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad survived nail-shredding tension and pulled out a stunning come-from-behind win in extra innings, sending its fans home happy, one step ahead of the encroaching darkness.

To get there, shanking visiting Mount Vernon Christian 5-4 in nine gut-wrenching frames, the Wolves dodged disaster, found a new groove, and listened to their fans constant plea to seize the moment.

And thanks to career-defining performances from players as diverse as Yohannon Sandles and Camden Glover, CHS evens its Northwest 2B/1B League record at 1-1, moves to 2-3 overall, and, hopefully, turns a corner while the season is still young.

A game after being no-hit in a loss to Friday Harbor, the Wolves came up with clutch base-knocks against MVC, while shutting down the Hurricane hitters when it mattered most.

Camden Glover, seen in sunnier times, was lights out Friday, a day before he turns 16. (Photo courtesy Stevie Glover)

Trailing 4-0 heading into the bottom of the sixth, Coupeville was hanging tough thanks to a huge pitching performance from Glover.

Coming on in relief of Peyton Caveness — who was fairly sharp himself but had been dinged by a play here, a play there — Glover was lights out.

The burly sophomore, who celebrates his 16th birthday Saturday, went 5.2 innings, striking out 10 while not giving up a single hit.

But with just six outs left to play with, the Wolves needed something to start clicking offensively.

They found their mojo thanks to some pain, some hustle, and some precision hitting.

Aiden O’Neill led off the bottom of the sixth by wearing a pitch, the ball whacking off his body with a dull thud.

Not one to grimace or show any discomfort, the speedy sophomore instead bounded down to first, then promptly shot down to second on a steal.

He came around to score Coupeville’s first run on a hard-hit grounder off the bat of Sandles, and CHS seemed to be in business.

Until the Wolves briefly stalled out, stranding runners at second and third to end the inning.

Not a problem, however, as Glover mowed down the side in the seventh, and then his teammates rose to the moment in their “final” at-bats.

Pinch hitter Aidyn McDermott led off with a single that chewed up the glove of the MVC third baseman, before Caveness thumped an RBI double.

The Hurricanes looked like they were going to escape, however, striking out the next batter and putting themselves an out away from scampering back to the vans, a visit to McDonalds possibly in their early evening plans.

To which the Wolves said, stow those burgers and fries, buccos, with Cole White and Sandles knocking in runs with back-to-back perfectly placed blasts.

Sandles gets dynamic. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Suddenly it was 4-4, we were headed to extra innings, and the overflow crowd of MVC fans were beginning to kvetch.

Just the way Cow Town likes it.

Glover survived a tense moment in the top of the eighth, plunking two batters before getting a ‘Cane slugger to weakly launch a foul ball right to first baseman Caveness with the bags juiced.

Coupeville put two runners aboard in the bottom half of the frame thanks to MVC errors, and the visitors reloaded the bases in the top of the ninth thanks to walks, but neither team could break through.

With already black skies getting darker and the game pushing three hours, that set up a fab finale in the bottom of the ninth.

White rapped a one-out single, then moved his lanky body down the line at a rapid rate on a steal, before Sandles wrote the final best-selling chapter.

Hitting cleanup, the Wolf junior, famous for his crowd-pleasing photos on the Coupeville Barstool Instagram account, capped his best day as a CHS diamond dynamo.

With his fan club hootin’ and hollerin’ on every pitch, Sandles dug his cleats into the prairie dirt, swung from his heels, and launched a gorgeous laser into faraway left field.

Ball hit grass, White’s toes tapped home plate, and the rush was on, as the Wolves poured out of the dugout to envelop their stellar second baseman.

Peyton Caveness and Co. swung big in key moments. (Morgan White photo)

Sandles finished with three hits (according to the official book), though some might argue he actually had four depending on how you viewed one base knock which was recorded as an error.

Joining him in the hit parade were White, who rapped two, Caveness — who whacked a two-bagger — Landon Roberts, and McDermott as CHS outhit MVC 8-2.

O’Neill, Caveness, Glover, and Jack Porter walked to round out the offense.

With the wild win in hand, the Wolves prep for a super-busy week, if weather permits.

Coupeville is slated to travel to Orcas Island next Tuesday, host Sequim Wednesday, trek to Concrete Friday, and host South Whidbey Saturday.

Oh, and the Wolf JV will play in Oak Harbor Monday, leaving very few open dates on the schedule.

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Rivalry game, epic win

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 15, 2022| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Jack Porter delivered a walk-off RBI single Tuesday, lifting Coupeville to an extra-innings win over South Whidbey. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

“This was a momentum game!”

Coupeville High School varsity baseball coach Will Thayer was a happy man Tuesday as he headed home for dinner.

His Wolves had just upended visiting South Whidbey 3-2 in extra innings, getting the game-winner on a walk-off RBI single from freshman Jack Porter in the bottom of the ninth inning.

The non-conference win evens Coupeville’s early-season record at 1-1, with a big trip to Lynden Christian on the schedule for Wednesday.

Even better for the Wolves, it’s a rivalry win over their next-door neighbors, and a bit of payback for a “loss” to the Falcons in a three-inning game at a jamboree last week.

“This was a game that sets the tone for us for the rest of the season,” Thayer said. “It gets us heading in the right direction.”

The game threatened to be an offensive bonanza in the early going, then turned into a pitcher’s duel.

Scott Hilborn whiffed seven hitters in seven innings of work.

South Whidbey jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the top of the first inning, but Coupeville responded immediately.

Xavier Murdy and Scott Hilborn punched back-to-back one-out singles to set the scene in the bottom half of the first frame, before Peyton Caveness brought out the big lumber.

The sophomore first-baseman bopped a two-run double to put the Wolves in front 2-1, a lead they would hold until the fifth inning.

While South Whidbey garnered that game-tying run, Coupeville put runners on base almost every inning, but couldn’t break through.

CHS had two guys sitting on bags in the second, fourth, and seventh innings, and loaded the bases in the sixth, but time and again the Falcons found a way to fly free.

Hilborn did his job for the Wolves, whiffing seven through seven innings of work on the pitcher’s mound, but left with the game knotted at 2-2.

Heading into extra innings, Thayer handed the ball to senior Hawthorne Wolfe, and the wily one was nearly perfect coming out of the bullpen.

The senior slinger retired the Falcons 1-2-3 in the eighth, then surrendered a lone walk in the ninth.

Coupeville catcher Xavier Murdy erased that Falcon baserunner, throwing him out on a stolen base attempt, before Wolfe reared back and punched out what would be South Whidbey’s final hitter.

After going seven long innings without a runner tapping home plate, the Wolves found some magic in the bottom of the ninth.

With two outs and no one aboard, CHS took advantage of Hilborn reaching on an error.

Jonathan Valenzuela and Caveness eked out walks to juice the bags, setting up Porter for his game-winning swat.

The walk-off hit capped a day in which the Wolves collected nine hits and five walks.

Caveness (1B, 2B), Sage Sharp (1B, 1B), and Porter (1B, 1B) paced the attack, with Murdy, Valenzuela, and Hilborn chipping in with singles.

Cole White walked twice, while Chase Anderson, Valenzuela, and Caveness each got aboard once thanks to showcasing eagle eyes.

Peyton Caveness reached base three times in the rivalry win.

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Wolves big-timing it!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on April 7, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Dane Lucero rapped a two-run single to kick things off Saturday, as Coupeville rallied to knock off 2A Cedarcrest. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Julian Welling had the last laugh.

The Coupeville High School senior was stung by Cedarcrest Saturday, but quickly rebounded and hit the visitors twice as hard, lifting his squad to a thrilling win in extra innings.

Unable to completely slam the door on the 2A Red Wolves in the late going as a relief pitcher, Welling responded by drilling a walk-off RBI single as Coupeville roared back to win 7-6 in eight innings.

The victory, the fourth straight for the Wolves, lifts them to 7-3 headed into the biggest game of the season.

That comes Wednesday, when Coupeville, 2-0 in Olympic League play, travels to Chimacum (1-0) to face the Cowboys in a game which will give the winner sole possession of first place in conference action.

CHS will arrive for that game on a high, both from its current winning streak, and the flamboyant style in which said streak stayed alive against all odds.

Twice rallying from a run down, with the second time coming in extra innings, Coupeville showed grit and resilience against a large 2A school which was riding high with a 6-3 mark entering Saturday.

The Wolves rep one of the smallest 1A schools in the land, but have acquitted themselves nicely against much-bigger rivals this season, going 2-2 against 2A foes.

Saturday’s game was a tense, back-and-forth affair, with the teams changing leads multiple times, but neither squad able to pull away.

Coupeville’s biggest lead came at 2-0 when it plated a pair of runners in the bottom of the first inning.

Matt Hilborn and Joey Lippo were aboard on a walk and a bunt single and busy tormenting the Cedarcrest hurler when he slipped up and delivered a juicy one to Dane Lucero.

Taking full advantage, the Wolf junior ripped a two-run single to open the scoring and raise the tantalizing possibility of a blowout on the horizon.

It wasn’t to be, however.

Instead, Cedarcrest knotted things at 2-2 in the second, then, after CHS scraped out a run in the bottom half of the inning on a Nick Etzell double followed by a Hilborn single, the two teams traded goose eggs until the fifth.

Coupeville had a magnificent opportunity in the third, loading the bags with no outs, only to have three consecutive hitters promptly punched out on strikes.

When Cedarcrest slipped two runs across in the fifth to retake the lead at 4-3, that third-inning kerfuffle looked even worse, but hope would not die on this day.

The Wolves packaged doubles from Hilborn and Hunter Smith around a free pass to Lippo in the sixth to snatch the lead right back, sending themselves charging out for the top of the seventh up 5-4.

The simple route would have been to retire the visitors 1-2-3 and head in with the win, beating the rain and getting out of the wind.

Welling likes to court danger, though, and Cedarcrest seized a glimmer of hope, using three extra-base hits and an error to plate one in the seventh to tie and one in the eighth to take the lead.

It was a moment fit for a lesser team, and a lesser player, to crumble.

Not on this day, and not this player and team.

Welling, like all good-hearted people, is a fervent fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and knows deep in his soul what it takes to be a champion.

Toss in his teammates, even those who … ugh … root for the SeaSlugs, and you have a band of warriors who have been tested in the fires and have launched Coupeville baseball to its best start in a decade by refusing to go down easy.

Inspired by a few quiet words of wisdom from the hardball whisperer, AKA coach Chris Smith, the Wolves stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth looking not for a mere tie, but an outright win.

Hilborn played patient, eking out a walk to get a man aboard with one out, then Lippo got dramatic.

Swinging on a full count, he lashed a laser, and came within a step of winning the game on one swing.

While Hilborn cruised home with the tying run, Lippo was held to a triple, and not a game-winning two-run home-run, only because his tootsies outran his head.

When his helmet came off and stayed behind as his body continued on, high school rules dictated he had to stop at the last base he hit, planting him firmly at third while he waited for his wayward head-protection to be returned to his noggin.

That small stickler of a rule gave Cedarcrest one last gasp of air, but, two batters later, it was payback time.

Strutting to the plate, waggling his bat like a rampaging Viking heading off the boat and looking for a new English village to conquer, Welling was a feel-good ending come to life for Wolf Nation.

And forget about a little blooper or a shallow single.

This was winning time and Welling blew the cover off the ball, giving Lippo enough time to stroll home, both hands holding his helmet firmly on his head, if he had wished.

In a different situation it would have been a two-bagger, but all that was needed was a quick step on first for the single, and cue the celebration among the cold, wind-lashed Wolf faithful.

For those who stayed for the entire game, they saw Coupeville spread out 10 hits among eight batters.

Lippo (1B, 3B) and Hilborn (1B, 2B) led the way, while Etzell and Hunter Smith had doubles.

Welling, Lucero, Jake Hoagland and Kyle Rockwell added singles.

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Edge of your seats!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 27, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Shane Losey snags a grounder Tuesday during an extra-innings game. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

In a game of rallies, the final one fell just a hair short.

The Coupeville High School JV baseball team made it back from six runs down Tuesday to force extra innings, but couldn’t quite overcome a five-run deficit in their final at-bats.

Leaving the tying runner aboard, the Wolves fell 11-10 to visiting 2A Sequim in a game which went nine innings, two beyond the normal allotted schedule.

The loss drops Coupeville’s young guns to 1-3 on the season.

That the game went nine innings might have been a surprise to anyone who walked by midway through the game, glanced at the scoreboard, then moved on to other events.

CHS surrendered five runs in the third inning, and had some early trouble getting its own offense on track, trailing 6-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth.

That was where the Wolves finally put together a sustained rally, using a handful of walks, a Sequim error and a single from freshman Daniel Olson to plate four runners.

Two more came around in the sixth, with Jacob Zettle and Olson delivering key base-knocks.

After rambling through scoreless seventh and eighth innings together, the two teams decided to heat things up, a lot, in the ninth, scoring almost half of the game’s runs in one frame.

Sequim dropped a five-spot on the scoreboard for the second time in one day, but Coupeville answered with four of its own in the bottom of the inning.

The Wolves put their first five hitters on, with Johnny Carlson, Olson, Jered Brown and Mason Grove all coming around to score, but then the visitors clamped down.

A strikeout changed the flow of the game, and, two batters later, Sequim escaped with the win on a come-backer to the mound.

Olson (3) and Zettle (2) paced the Wolf offense in the loss, combining for five hits.

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