Wolf first baseman Aaron Trumbull is in lock-down mode. (Shelli Trumbull photos)
CHS coaches Willie Smith (goatee) and Chris Chan (sunglasses) celebrate with their squad.
A little post-game campaigning.
“Coach, we flipped the switch!”
Coupeville High School senior catcher Carson Risner was overjoyed in the post-game huddle and it was a feeling that ran through every Wolf player and coach on the field.
A game after having their worst meltdown of the season, CHS rose up and played what assistant coach Chris Chan termed “the most complete game they’ve had in the last two to three years,” Thursday, rapping out 14 hits en route to shredding host Cedarcrest 10-2.
The victory, coming against a large 2A school, and former league rival, who entered the game with a 5-1 record, lifted the Wolves to 3-4 on the still young season.
Quickly shaking off the hangover from their collapse against Lynden Christian Tuesday, the Wolves jumped on Cedarcrest from the first pitch.
Crunching three doubles (Cole Payne, Aaron Curtin, Risner) in the first inning, Coupeville shot out to a quick 3-0 lead before its hosts even came up to bat.
Payne and Curtin went back-to-back, before a Kyle Bodamer single set up Risner, who delivered his second two-run hit in as many games.
Quick to prove it wasn’t a fluke, the Wolves threw down three more runs in the second.
Clay Reilly led off with a single and eventually came around to score on an RBI single off the bat of Payne.
After Curtin smashed a single, Bodamer played long ball, walloping a two-run single deep down the left field line to stake the Wolves to a 6-0 lead.
A jubilant CHS coach Willie Smith thoroughly enjoyed the power show from his headquarters in the third base box.
“It put them in a bit of shock as to what was happening,” he said with a chortle.
Coupeville tacked on four more runs in the fourth, kicking things off with back-to-back singles from Hunter Smith and Josh Bayne.
After Payne loaded the bags when Cedarcrest couldn’t handle his intended sacrifice bunt, the Wolves started bringing their runners around in style.
Curtin lashed a run-scoring double, Bodamer notched another RBI with a single, then Risner and Aaron Trumbull capped the afternoon with RBIs of their own.
With the offense booming, the pitching and defense didn’t need to be first-rate, but it was.
CJ Smith went the distance, scattering four hits and striking out four (“He was in total command, working the corners and keeping them in check”), while the guys behind him came through with a variety of inspired plays.
“Our defense was perfect and we received some amazing web gems from a variety of players,” Willie Smith said.
Coupeville had a snappy 1-4-3 double play that started with CJ Smith knocking down a line shot up the middle. Payne snatched it, stepped on second and fired to first to complete the twin-killing.
When the ball cleared the infield, Reilly and Bayne ran everything down, with the duo each making a pair of highlight-reel catches.
Bayne, playing center field on a very roomy field that runs 370 feet in left center, went deep into the alley to make an over-the-shoulder snag to rob a possible triple.
He then followed that up with an even more impressive catch, going to the wall to snare a ball headed for pay dirt.
“Completely took the wind out of them,” Willie Smith said. “That was the defensive play of the year so far and pretty much sealed the deal for us.”
Coupeville Sports 