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Posts Tagged ‘Hunter Smith’

Patience pays off for Wolves!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on April 2, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Careful pitch selection was key Monday, as Coupeville turned 12 walks into a 9-0 win at Friday Harbor. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Take what they give you.

Showing patience under pressure Monday, the Coupeville High School baseball squad walked its way to a blow-out win at Friday Harbor.

Turning 12 walks, and a handful of errors by their hosts, to their advantage, the Wolves cruised to a 9-0 win while only eking out four hits.

The non-conference victory, Coupeville’s third straight triumph and fourth in its last five games, lifts CHS to 6-3 on the season.

The Wolves, off to their best start in more than a decade, don’t play again until Saturday, when they host 2A Cedarcrest.

Using the Olympic League’s web site and Max Preps, I can go back as far as 2008, and, during that time, no Coupeville baseball squad has gotten off to better than a 5-4 mark.

The Wolves hit that mark in 2017, 2015, 2013 and 2010, but this time around they turned Friday Harbor’s weaknesses into a sixth, very satisfying win.

With hurler Hunter Smith firing BB’s on the mound (whiffing nine and retiring eight of the final nine hitters he faced), Coupeville didn’t need much offense.

Which doesn’t mean it wasn’t happy to accept what Friday Harbor offered.

The Wolves scraped out the only run that mattered in the top of the first, using a single from Matt Hilborn, a sacrifice from Joey Lippo, a passed ball and an RBI single by Smith to “bust” things open.

Coupeville added two more runs in the third, a single tally in the fourth and a game-capping five-run explosion in the top of the seventh, while not notching a single hit in those innings.

In the third, Hilborn and Lippo each walked, stole second and came around to score on Friday Harbor errors, while Nick Etzell pulled off the same maneuver in the fourth.

The Wolves gave Smith a much-bigger cushion in the fifth, again using a mix of walks (five this time) and booted balls by their hosts (two more) to plate five.

The final run came home off of a ground-out by Hilborn, one of the few times CHS was given a chance to put the ball into play in the latter stages of the game.

After collecting two base-knocks way back in the first, Coupeville didn’t get another hit until Smith ripped a fifth-inning single.

But, like Dane Lucero, who led off the sixth with a double, he was left high and dry, stranded and unable to score.

Not that it mattered much, as the Wolves capitalized on what they were given, with seven of nine hitters scoring at least once.

Hilborn and Lippo each tapped home plate twice to lead the scoring attack, while the only two starters not to score, Kyle Rockwell and Jake Pease, both picked up RBIs with bases-loaded walks.

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Roll in, torch ’em, roll out!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on March 28, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Nick Etzell crunched a double Wednesday as Coupeville blew out Klahowya 13-3. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Wolf senior Julian Welling, who was hit by three different KSS pitchers in the game, shows off his war wounds. (Photo courtesy Jacob Zettle)

Everything was clicking.

Pitching, hitting, defense, intangibles — they were all on point for the Coupeville High School baseball squad Wednesday at it battered host Klahowya 13-3.

The win lifts the Wolves to 1-0 in Olympic League play and into a first-place tie with Chimacum (1-0).

Defending league champ Klahowya (1-2) and Port Townsend (0-1), which visits Whidbey Friday, hold down the bottom two slots at the moment.

The Wolves, who are 4-3 overall, jumped on the Eagles early and never let up, scoring in six of seven innings.

That gave starting pitcher Hunter Smith plenty of room in which to operate, and the senior ace responded with his third win in as many starts.

He scattered two hits (matching the total he himself racked up while hitting) and struck out five while going the distance.

Coupeville jumped out to a 7-0 lead, plating two in the top of the first, then rocking Klahowya pitching for five more in the second.

Matt Hilborn kick-started things with a lead-off single, then the Wolves juiced the bases thanks to Smith and Julian Welling’s willingness to be plunked.

While Coupeville’s lead runner was forced at home on a fielder’s choice, the Wolves broke through with an RBI single off the bat of Jake Hoagland and a bases-loaded free pass eked out by Kyle Rockwell.

With Klahowya’s pitcher unable to find the strike zone, CHS packaged five walks (including Hilborn wearing a pitch), a Nick Etzell double and singles from Joey Lippo and Jake Pease to bust things open in the second.

KSS shaved two runs off the lead in their half of the second, but continued to hand out walks like sweet, sweet candy, allowing Coupeville to stretch the margin back to 9-3 by the end of five innings.

Of course, “sweet, sweet candy” might be stretching it a bit, when Klahowya lobbed pitches off of the body parts of Wolf batters SEVEN times in one game.

Welling was their favorite target, getting nailed by THREE different Eagle pitchers.

One of the few times they didn’t hit him was the sixth inning, when Welling sent Smith home with an RBI ground-out, right after the Wolf hurler whacked a two-run triple.

Apparently wanting to play a full seven innings, the Wolves didn’t hit a 10-run lead until they notched a final tally in the top of the seventh, too late to kick in the mercy rule.

Still, it mattered very little, as Smith closed the game with one final punch-out from the mound and Coupeville exited Silverdale with a victory that was assured, very-balanced and fairly definitive.

The Wolves finished with 10 base-knocks, with Smith, Lippo and Hilborn leading the way with two apiece.

Pease, Hoagland, Dane Lucero and Etzell rounded out the attack, each collecting a hit.

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Put it on cruise control, baby!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on March 24, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Matt Hilborn and Co. ran away with a big win Friday afternoon. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Take what they give you, then take some more.

Racing iffy weather Friday, the Coupeville High School baseball squad took full advantage of all the opportunities offered by visiting North Mason and got off the field quickly.

Using a mix of Bulldog errors and walks, the Wolves sprinkled in a few well-placed hits and strolled to an 11-1 win in a game called after five innings due to the mercy rule.

The non-conference victory, coming against a large 2A school, lifts Coupeville to 3-2 on the season.

CHS will have a chance to keep its hot streak alive when it turns right around Saturday morning and heads off to Vashon Island.

Coupeville coach Chris Smith exited the field with a smile Friday, pleased with just about every aspect of how his team played.

“Solid game all around, with good pitching, solid defense and good approach at the plate,” he said. “I’m happy with our run production.”

After a scoreless first inning, the Wolves exploded in the bottom of the second, plating seven runners and effectively ending the game.

The game-busting rally started with Dane Lucero reaching on an error, featured a ton of walks, including bases-loaded ones to Gavin Knoblich, Matt Hilborn and Joey Lippo, then was capped with a couple sweet base-knocks.

Hunter Smith, who started on the mound for CHS, blasted a two-run single to crack the game wide open, followed by Jake Hoagland tagging an RBI base-hit of his own.

Not content to stop there, Coupeville added four more runs in the third, this time keyed by big hits from Julian Welling and Lucero, plus a steady diet of walks and North Mason bobbles.

The visitors had little luck against Hunter Smith, who scattered three fairly meaningless singles, only giving up a run on a sac fly in the fifth.

Hoagland paced the Wolves at the plate with a single and double, while Welling bashed a double and Lippo, Lucero and Hunter Smith all had singles.

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“The guys battled!!”

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on March 17, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Hunter Smith bashed five hits, including a pair of triples, Friday in a 10-inning loss at Sequim. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Something for everyone, just not a win for the visitors.

In a game that lurched from a pitcher’s duel to an offensive show, the Coupeville High School baseball squad rallied from three runs down Friday, but couldn’t hold a late lead and fell a single tally short on the road at Sequim.

The 10-9 non-conference loss to a 2A school, which came in 10 tension-soaked innings (three longer than originally scheduled) drops the Wolves to 1-1 on the season.

CHS gets an immediate chance to bounce back, however, as it travels down Island Saturday to face South Whidbey in a 1 PM game.

Facing off with Sequim, the Wolves went down fighting until the final swing.

“Long game; the guys battled,” said Coupeville coach Chris Smith. “It hurt, but a good game.”

Despite having runners on in four of the first five innings, the Wolves couldn’t seem to break through in the early stages and trailed 3-0 headed to the top of the sixth.

Coupeville surrendered a single run in the third, fourth and fifth, while stranding their own guys on the base-paths.

The most troubling came in the third inning, when Hunter Smith ripped a one-out triple, but never got to finish the journey home.

All that changed in the sixth, however, as CHS took advantage of some wildness from the Sequim pitching staff to pile up a six-run rally.

Coupeville had one man on and two outs when it lit the fuse, thanks to a string of walks.

A bases-loaded free pass to Nick Etzell finally put the Wolves on the scoreboard, before an error on a blast off the bat of Matt Hilborn cleared the bags.

He came around to score on a Sequim balk, then Hunter Smith capped things with an RBI single.

The hometown diamond men showed some grit and resolve, however, coming right back to plate three of their own in the bottom half of the sixth, knotting things up at 6-6.

A scoreless seventh sent the game into extra frames, where Coupeville immediately grabbed the upper hand.

Hilborn singled, Lippo reached on an error, then the RBI men went to work, sending three Wolves zipping across the plate.

Hunter Smith bashed his second triple of the afternoon, while Dane Lucero and Jake Hoagland each crunched an RBI single, and CHS was back on top 9-6.

Except Sequim was just as plucky.

Refusing to lose on its home field, it rallied for three in the bottom half of the inning and the game went on in a race with approaching twilight.

Coupeville twice had opportunities after that, but stranded a pair of runners in the ninth, then saw a double play wipe out a potential rally in the 10th.

After a game where the hits rained down, Sequim got its walk-off run in the bottom of the 10th without a single base-knock, using a string of walks to cap the game with a whimper, albeit one which made the local fans happy.

While they lost, the Wolves put good metal on the ball, with eight of nine players collecting a hit.

Hunter Smith led the way, going 5-6 with two triples and three singles, while Hilborn, Lippo, Lucero, Hoagland, Kyle Rockwell, Jake Pease and Etzell all collected singles.

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Veteran diamond squad hunts title!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , on February 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Wolf junior Matt Hilborn will bounce between the mound, third and short this season. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Right back to the top.

That’s where the Coupeville High School baseball squad wants to go, as the Wolves aim for a second Olympic League title in the last three years.

Last year saw a mid-season coaching change, as Marc Aparicio stepped away to focus on a real-world job and Chris Smith slid into the head gig.

Not missing a beat, the Wolves finished 11-9 overall, 6-3 in league play.

That was good enough for a second-place finish behind Klahowya, but the season ended too early when CHS was nipped 2-1 by Bellevue Christian in a loser-out district playoff game.

As he prepares for a full season as head coach, Chris Smith is excited to see what a veteran, skilled roster can produce.

“My goal for the year is to be the best team on the field every time we play,” he said. “Smaller goals include creating a new system that will directly relate to my style of coaching.

“To win a league title and to win at least one playoff game — everything after that is icing on the cake.”

Coupeville’s seniors have finished second, first and second in the Olympic League during their three years as Wolves, and want to go out on top.

“Senior leadership, experience of our varsity squad, solid pitching staff and solid defense will be our strengths,” Chris Smith said. “These attributes will give us the ability to compete with every team we play.

“If our bats come alive, we will be a significant threat to every team we face.”

Coupeville has a ton of pitching depth, with senior Hunter Smith joining juniors Dane Lucero and Matt Hilborn in the starting rotation.

Three seniors — long relievers Joey Lippo and Nick Etzell and closer Julian Welling — comprise the bullpen.

Flexibility is a huge positive for the Wolves, as players will slide around depending on who is on the mound.

When not pitching, Hunter Smith will be at short, Lucero at third base, Etzell at second, Welling at first and Lippo in center field.

Hilborn will bounce between short and third, with senior Jake Hoagland manning right field.

Other players expected to vie for major playing time include seniors Kyle Rockwell and Jacob Zettle, juniors Shane Losey and Jake Pease and sophomore Gavin Knoblich.

As he mixes and matches his lineup, Chris Smith looks forward to getting production from every slot on the batting order.

To ensure that, the Wolves will put in work on a consistent basis.

“We will swing the bats a ton this year,” he said. “We will be focused on creating a solid lineup from top to bottom of ‘big game hunters’,” he said. “We will work on perfecting this craft, knowing our pitch, knowing our objective and driving the baseball all over the field.”

This is the final season for the current line-up of the Olympic League, as Coupeville bounces to the new North Sound Conference in the fall. As they depart, the Wolves are ready to leave their mark.

“We match up very well with every team in our league,” Chris Smith said. “Overall, I believe we have a stronger team coming back then any of the rest.

“However I know that all of these teams bring their ‘A’ games when they play us and I don’t expect anything less this year,” he added. “My ultimate focus is not to be too concerned with our opponents but to put a team on the field that gives them a lot to be concerned about.”

The CHS coaching staff has two missions — to win at the varsity level while building at the JV level.

“I will be spending as much time with them (the JV) as possible to get them ready for the upcoming years,” Chris Smith said.

While no one knows exactly how things will play out, Coupeville’s coach, for one, is ready to attack the new season.

“It will be a fun and exciting year! We have big expectations, but we also have the team to deliver.”

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