Joey Lippo | Coupeville Sports

Posts Tagged ‘Joey Lippo’

Young guns play all day!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Joey Lippo, Julian Welling, JV, South Whidbey tourney on May 4, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Jonathan Thurston got the start in game one of Saturday’s JV baseball tourney. (John Fisken photos)

JV coach Chris Smith gets his game face on.

Gotta make the gas count.

Having traveled down to the South end of the Island Saturday, the Coupeville High School JV baseball squad played two games, then went into extra innings in the nightcap just for good measure.

The young guns lost both games, falling 7-1 to South Whidbey before being nipped on a ninth-inning walk-off hit against Cedar Park Christian, but 16 innings of late-season baseball is invaluable as a learning tool.

Game one was a one-sided pitcher’s duel, as the Falcon hurler scattered three hits and whiffed eight Wolves.

CHS hurlers Jonathan Thurston and Joey Lippo were decent, but not as sharp as their rival.

“We never really got going,” said Wolf coach Chris Smith. “Positive note — only one error in the game, which came in the sixth as a dropped third (strike) where we could not record the out.”

That inability to hold on to third strikes would haunt the Wolves all afternoon, as it happened twice more in the second game, with the final time allowing CPC to remain alive and tie up the game.

“Aside from that, we were flawless defensively,” Smith said.

CPC took advantage of a short porch and launched a pair of home runs to break the game open.

Julian Welling, Hunter Smith and Nick Etzell teamed up to share the pitching duties in the nightcap, combining for 10 K’s.

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Young guns sparkle in close loss!!

Posted in Baseball, tagged Aaron Curtin, baseball, CHS Wolves, Friday Harbor, Hunter Smith, Joey Lippo on April 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Clay Reilly swings away Saturday. (John Fisken photo)

Some losses don’t sting as much as others.

While the Coupeville High School baseball squad was tripped up by one bad inning Saturday and fell 5-3 to visiting Friday Harbor, Wolf coach Willie Smith was fairly OK with the result.

“As losses go, this was one that really doesn’t affect us mentally and a lot of young kids got to step up and played very well for us,” said the seasoned hardball guru.

With a battle for first place in the 1A Olympic League looming Tuesday, when the Wolves (6-5 overall, 2-0 in league) travel to Klahowya (10-0, 1-0), Saturday’s non-conference tilt was more about staying (or getting) healthy and giving the young guns some playing time.

Senior hurler Aaron Curtin was lights-out, as he has been all season, shutting Friday Harbor down for the first four innings.

He struck out seven and surrendered just two hits, but then gave way to his relievers to stay primed for Klahowya.

With the change in pitchers, Coupeville’s fate veered in a new, walk-strewn direction.

Aaron Trumbull walked four of the seven batters he faced, including twice walking in runs, and his defense fell apart behind him, booting a pair of ground balls, allowing Friday Harbor to put together a five-run rally in the fifth.

That erased a solid start for the Wolves, who had jumped out to a 3-0 lead.

Coupeville struck for two in the first, with Josh Bayne (single) and Curtin (fielders choice) coming around when a Friday Harbor outfielder misplayed Trumbull’s fly ball to left.

The Wolves tacked on another run in the third when Curtin got to trot home for free after a balk.

Several other offensive chances were snuffed out by solid Friday Harbor glove work.

Hunter Smith was robbed of a double when the center fielder made a diving catch of his line drive.

Later, Gabe Wynn, who had singled for his first varsity hit, was doubled up at first after Joey Lippo’s liner down the baseline at third was miraculously snagged.

With the freshmen fully in control of the lineup in the latter innings, Coupeville kept it close and showed the promise of a bright future.

Hunter Smith replaced Trumbull on the mound in the sixth and retired all six batters he faced, whiffing two.

He also teamed up with Lippo on a bang-bang play in the field that brought a smile to their coach’s face.

A hot grounder into the second base hole seemed on its way to the outfield, but Lippo ran it down, pivoted and made the throw to his pitcher, who was covering the bag at first with Trumbull having been pulled away by the grounder.

“Just like we practice!,” said Willie Smith.

Coupeville had one last shot at a rally in the bottom of the seventh. CJ Smith eked out a one-out walk and Curtin smoked a shot to deep right.

Unfortunately, his moon ball dropped right into a waiting outfielder’s glove to end the game.

While he would have gladly accepted a victory, Willie Smith was impressed with what he got from the young end of his bench.

“Some really great stuff from our young guys: Cameron Toomey-Stout started in left, Julian Welling at third, Joey played well in the field and swung it well, and Hunter debuted on the mound and gave us another strong pitching option.

“One bad inning does us in and is a good reminder that it only takes one inning in this game,” he added. “But I feel real confident and relaxed heading into the Klahowya game.”

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Baseball has been very, very good to him!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Basketball, Boys Tennis, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Joey Lippo, Major League Baseball, Sports Center, Under Armour Baseball Factory on January 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Rising baseball star Joey Lippo, disguised as a basketball player. (John Fisken photo)

Joey Lippo, in disguise as a basketball player. (John Fisken photo)

Joey Lippo takes his sports seriously.

The Coupeville High School freshman, a three-sport athlete (tennis, basketball, baseball) is building a reputation for always having his game face on, though he was spotted cracking up on the bench at a recent hoops game.

Ask him about it, however, and he’ll deny, deny, deny.

But whether he’s grinning or not in his photos, the Wolf young gun is taking huge strides on the athletic field. Baseball remains his #1 sport and it’s carrying him far and wide.

A scouting report from proud papa Joe Lippo on their most recent trip:

Over the past three days, CHS’ own Joey Lippo has been in Mesa, AZ, participating in the Under Armour Baseball Factory spring training program.

This involves three days of training, for up to 12 hours per day.

The weather was great, averaging 73 degrees under scattered cloud cover. Perfect for baseball.

Joey, along with 35 other high schoolers from around the country, learned from Major League hitting, catching, fielding and conditioning coaches from the Kansas City, Anaheim, Colorado and USA Baseball clubs.

Joey’s stats over the six games played were fairly good, and across six plate appearances he went 2 for 5 with a walk.

He played catcher and 1st base (a first for him), performing admirably, and better than expected at 1st.

The coaches, like last year, were no nonsense, no BS, and no slack given. If they thought you weren’t performing, they would let you know.

This, however was not intended to berate or belittle the player, as the call-out was followed with a way to fix what they were doing wrong.

The players ran everywhere, and were in constant motion. There was very little standing around.

New drills were introduced, arm strength was evaluated, speed measured, and resolve tested.

Some players struggled at the plate, others in the field. As the days went on, it only got harder due to fatigue and soreness.

There were highlights, including a kid that hit the ball to the warning track, some Sports Center-like defensive plays, and close plays at the plate.

There were also low-lights, with a couple players going “O-fer” at the plate, ground balls bouncing off mitts (and other body parts), and even a player running into the fence (he was OK).

In the end, the camp ended with no significant injury, although there were 36 exhausted high schoolers with various stages of sore arms and legs, twisted ankles, and assorted cuts, scrapes, and bruises.

For Joey’s part, he will be bringing several pro-level drills back to CHS, and will hopefully be able to contribute to the teams success in the coming season.

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Young netter rules the hard court!!

Posted in Boys Soccer, Boys Tennis, tagged CHS Wolves, Joey Lippo, Kyle Nelson, Soccer, tennis, William Nelson on September 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »

William Nelson

Master of the hard court.

William Nelson will be going into the family business.

The Coupeville High School freshman plans to join the Wolf boys’ soccer team in the spring, a squad coached by his dad, Kyle Nelson.

Older brother Loren already plays for the team, setting up the possibility of brothers running the pitch together.

“My favorite activity is definitely soccer and I’m really excited to finally get to play high school soccer this year,” Nelson said.

But he’s not waiting until the spring to make an impact on the Wolf athletic scene.

Nelson can currently be found stalking the tennis courts at CHS, where he’s teaming up with fellow freshman Joey Lippo as a rapidly-rising doubles team.

While soccer is a family affair, tennis is quickly becoming a large part of his life, as well.

“I have played tennis on and off over the last four to five years,” Nelson said. “I started playing cause I live close to the courts and it seemed like something fun.”

Once on the court, he has started to develop some go-to shots, while continuing to strive for excellence.

“I enjoy most hitting a perfect shot and winning a point,” Nelson said. “I would like to keep improving and win some matches this season.

“I need to work on all areas, but I think my forehand is my best area so far.”

Whichever sport he’s playing, or in the classroom, Nelson benefits from the support of those closest to him.

“I think my family has had a big impact on my life by just pushing me and supporting me all the way.”

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Lippo swings away!!

Posted in Baseball, Boys Tennis, tagged baseball, CHS Wolves, Joey Lippo, Star Wars, tennis on September 16, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Joey Lippo is currently playing tennis, but baseball remains his primary love.

Lippo also spends a little time on the basketball court. (John Fisken photo)

Joey Lippo has no problem swinging away.

The Coupeville High School freshman is a baseball lifer, so the transition to playing tennis this spring for the Wolves has been a fairly easy one.

In the end, it’s still all about the swing.

“I started tennis this past summer and I wanted to play a sport that has the same qualities as baseball, like swinging the racket and hitting the ball,” Lippo said. “The thing about tennis that I enjoy is that I like hitting the ball and being on the court with all the great people on the tennis team.”

With a few minor adjustments, hitting a forehand in tennis is remarkably like hitting a baseball on the diamond, so it’s little surprise which of his shots is fast becoming Lippo’s strength.

“I think that I have a pretty good forehand,” he said. “I still have a lot to learn and I would like to work on my serve, my backhand and my forehand.

“I am not the best player, but even the best players need to practice sometimes.”

In the early days of his first season Lippo has been playing doubles, teamed up with another fast-rising freshman.

It’s a partnership he wouldn’t mind staying in for the long-run.

“My goals are to win a couple of my matches with my partner, Will Nelson,” Lippo said. “And, in the future, I would like to play with Will for the next four years.”

A fan of the “Star Wars” movies and his math class with CHS boys’ soccer coach Kyle Nelson, Lippo also enjoys running and basketball.

If they were in different seasons, he would likely embrace life on the pitch, but since they both fall in the spring, baseball will triumph over soccer.

“I would love to play soccer but Mr. (Willie) Smith has me for baseball,” Lippo said.

Regardless of which sport he’s playing, he credits a lot of his growth to those around him.

“All my family and teachers and fellow players have taught me so many good lessons,” Lippo said. “They have made me the person and player I am today.”

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