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Posts Tagged ‘Katrina McGranahan’

Sluggers fill up stat sheet!!

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on April 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   Sophomore Mackenzie Davis leads the Wolf softball sluggers in on-base percentage. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Everyone is playing a part.

11 of the 12 players to see varsity action for Coupeville High School softball have already gotten a hit, and 12 of 12 have scored at least one run.

With contributions coming from every player in uniform, it’s not a huge surprise the Wolves are off to another hot start, this time sitting at 5-1.

As CHS preps for a busy weekend (it hosts Meridian Friday and Forks Saturday, with Saturday being a doubleheader), a look at season-to-date stats, as recorded on MaxPreps.

Hitting:

Player AB Runs Hits 2B 3B HR SB BB RBI Avg. OBP
Caveness 15 5 4 2 1 4 .267 .312
Lodell 20 5 4 1 2 .200 .200
Mathusek 12 5 3 2 2 3 .250 .400
Smith 23 10 10 3 1 3 .435 .480
Rose 16 8 4 2 4 3 3 .250 .368
Prescott 19 7 4 1 3 1 3 .211 .250
Davis 3 2 1 2 3 .333 .714
McGranahan 20 12 8 1 8 4 6 .400 .520
Bailey 3 1 1 .250
Crownover 21 5 9 2 1 8 .429 .455
Wright 22 7 11 2 1 1 1 15 .500 .500
Laxton 9 2 2 1 3 .222 .364

Pitching:

Player W/L ERA Gms CG SO Hits Runs BB K IP BF
McGranahan 4-0 0.97 6  4  1 17 9 14 23 29 111
Smith 1-1 7.00 2 10 13 2 9 41

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“Great day for Wolf Nation!!”

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

   Coupeville catcher Sarah Wright opened her junior season with a single and triple Saturday as the Wolves massacred South Whidbey 12-0. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

They were the last up, so they made their debut count.

With every other Coupeville High School spring sports team having played at least one contest, the Wolf varsity softball squad might have been getting a little antsy.

If the diamond sluggers were, they quickly got over any nerves, thrashing host South Whidbey 12-0 Saturday in the season opener for both teams.

The victory, called an inning early due to the 10-run mercy rule, was extra-sweet for several reasons.

One, it’s the Falcons in the other dugout, so a win is a clarion call for Island supremacy.

Also, for Coupeville, which came within a single strike of making the state tourney a year ago, it was a chance to send a message to a team which did make the trip to the big dance in 2017.

On this day the Wolves stared down Falcon ace Mackenzee Collins, who is headed to Colorado State on a D-1 scholarship, and picked her apart.

CHS sophomore Scout Smith got things going in the first inning with a one-out single, and the Wolves were off and running.

Using their speed and smarts to create havoc on the bases, the Wolves put a ton of pressure on South Whidbey’s defense and the Falcons cracked a bit.

A string of passed balls and a key error or two put Coupeville in prime spot, and its sluggers came up big when presented with a gift.

The top four hitters combined for seven hits, with Lauren Rose bashing a double and Sarah Wright crunching an epic triple.

Wolf hurler Katrina McGranahan, who scored all four times she strode to the plate, joined Rose and Wright with two base-knocks apiece, while Smith had her rally-launching single and crossed home three times.

While Coupeville’s offense was poppin’, McGranahan was lights-out in the pitcher’s circle.

A lead-off double to Collins in the second inning was the only hit she surrendered, and she whiffed three while tossing a complete-game shutout.

Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan boarded the bus for the short ride home with a huge grin on his face.

“It was a total team win,” he said. “We jumped on their ace right away in the first inning; Katrina and Sarah had their usual good days at the plate, but Scout was pesky all day.”

The Wolf softball guru was able to use all 12 players in uniform, giving freshmen Chelsea Prescott, Mollie Bailey and Coral Caveness their varsity debuts.

Prescott started at third-base, while Bailey and Caveness came off the bench to each score a run.

Hope Lodell, Veronica Crownover, Mackenzie Davis (who walked and scored in the fourth), Nicole Laxton and Emma Mathusek rounded out a CHS roster aiming to better last year’s superb 19-5 finish.

“I used the whole bench, so everyone got in the game to chase the jitters,” Kevin McGranahan said. “Great day for Wolf Nation.”

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Sluggers swing for state glory!!

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

   Junior first-baseman Veronica Crownover is a key bat in a Wolf softball lineup chock full of big-time sluggers. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

One strike.

That was how close the Coupeville High School softball squad came to advancing to the state tourney a season ago.

But, after a long road trip, then playing four postseason games in less than 24 heat-drenched hours, and winning two of them, the Wolves were denied at the very end.

It could have been a crusher, but instead, it has become the spark which has kept the fire burning deep in the heart of every CHS player this off-season.

Now, “spring” has arrived, and with it, the Wolves are ready to launch a new assault on the school record book and opposing pitchers.

“Our goals for this season are the same as always,” said CHS coach Kevin McGranahan. “Above all else, have fun and gel as a team; compete for the league championship every day;  advance to state and make sure they knew Coupeville was there by upsetting some teams.”

Coupeville went 19-5 last year, the second-best record in 39 years of Wolf softball, losing to just two teams.

Three tough losses, two on the road, to Chimacum, denied them an Olympic League title by the slimmest of margins.

Then, two defeats to perennial power Bellevue Christian at districts, packaged around wins over Vashon Island and Seattle Christian, ended the Wolves season.

Both Chimacum and BC absorbed substantial losses to graduation, while Coupeville, for the most part, is returning the core of its squad.

Second baseman Jae LeVine and left fielder Tiffany Briscoe graduated, while slugging shortstop Mikayla Elfrank is sitting out her senior season as she recovers from a devastating leg injury suffered during basketball.

While the trio will be missed, the Wolves will still be a very deep, very talented squad, with most positions manned by veterans.

Seniors Katrina McGranahan (P), Lauren Rose (3B) and Hope Lodell (CF) have been All-Conference players year in and year out, with McGranahan the reigning Olympic League MVP.

Junior catcher Sarah Wright has been a star from day one, launching moon shots and gunning down would-be base stealers, while junior first baseman Veronica Crownover is a threat to clear the fences every time she swings a bat.

Toss in sophomore jack-of-all-trades Scout Smith, who blossomed as a star during last year’s playoffs, and the Wolves can stand with just about anyone.

There is plenty of depth as well, with a mix of returning bench players and a talented group of freshmen headed up by former little league standouts Mollie Bailey and Chelsea Prescott.

“I feel that we are strong again as a team and that together these girls can all be the top returning player any given day,” Kevin McGranahan said. “All of them will be pretty much interchangeable on the field.

“We have a big freshmen class coming in,” he added. “So we will be strong in the future and will have to see how they look as practice takes shape.”

In the race for a league title defending champ Chimacum “will be a wild card,” while Klahowya, led by D-1 recruit Amber Bumbalough, “will be strong again this year.”

Port Townsend is mired in a 51-game losing streak dating back to 2014, but the RedHawks made huge strides in the second half last season and looked like a squad about to break through.

Instead of focusing on their rivals, the Wolves will look inward.

“Mental toughness is and always will be something a team needs to constantly work on,” Kevin McGranahan said. “The little things on the field will take care of themselves through practice.

“Our team strengths will be our team speed and the girls playing for each other and not playing for themselves.”

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“I couldn’t be more proud of her!!”

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on January 23, 2018| Leave a Comment »

   CHS senior Katrina McGranahan signed a letter of intent Tuesday to play softball for Everett Community College. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

McGranahan was already a slugger back in her Little League days.

   Catching some Z’s with fellow Wolf softball star Lauren Rose on another long road trip. (Justine McGranahan photos)

   McGranahan puts pen to paper Tuesday during a signing ceremony which attracted a strong turnout of friends, family and fellow Wolf athletes. 

   McGranahan is joined by CHS softball teammates (l to r) Sarah Wright, Melia Welling, Scout Smith, Kyla Briscoe and Hope Lodell.

Killer Kat is taking her talents to Everett.

Coupeville High School senior softball standout Katrina McGranahan signed a letter of intent Tuesday and will join the Everett Community College sluggers next spring.

“This was the school she wanted and liked the best,” said CHS softball coach/dad Kevin McGranahan.

His daughter agreed, pointing to Everett’s proximity with Whidbey and the chance to be part of a tight-knit group as big factors in her choice.

“Everett has a great family atmosphere,” Katrina McGranahan said. “Every softball team I’ve been on has felt like a family, and I can’t wait to join the EvCC softball family.

“Everett is also really close to home; I am able to come back when I want,” she added. “Which is a plus! Because I would love to come back and support not only the (CHS) softball team but the volleyball team as well.

“Everett gives me the opportunity to continue my softball career and I couldn’t be more thankful.”

Before she pulls on a college uniform, the reigning Olympic League MVP has one more crack at leading her high school squad to the state tourney.

Coupeville, which fell just a single strike short of punching its ticket to the big dance in 2017, returns virtually every starter this spring.

Leading the way is McGranahan, who is a double threat, whipping strikes from the pitcher’s circle and thumping the heck out of the ball at the plate.

As a junior she went 18-5 as a pitcher, earning a save in the only game where she didn’t notch the decision.

McGranahan tossed 140 strikeouts in 144 innings of work, with 19 complete games, a no-hitter and a sparkling 1.56 ERA.

At the plate, she hit .524, piling up 33 hits, 34 runs and 37 RBI. That included five home runs, five triples and three doubles.

A two-sport star, McGranahan was also a league MVP during her junior volleyball season and was a major part of the Wolves winning back-to-back conference titles her final two seasons.

As a senior, she helped the CHS spikers return to the state tourney for the first time since 2004.

A serene superstar, a quiet leader who lets her skills do the talking, McGranahan shared Coupeville High School Female Athlete of the Year honors in 2016-2017 with Valen Trujillo.

McGranahan will be the second Wolf to make the jump to EvCC in recent years, as former Coupeville slugger Hailey Hammer just wrapped up a two-year run at first base for the Trojans.

Seeing his daughter prepare to strike out on her own, while pursuing her life-long love of softball, is big for Kevin McGranahan.

“From her father’s perspective –  I am extremely proud of her and excited for her opportunity to play at the collegiate level,” he said. “She has put in a lot of her own time during the off-season to make herself and her teams better and achieve her dream to play at the next level.

“I feel like it was only yesterday she picked up a softball for the first time and I saw her fall in love with the game,” Kevin McGranahan added. “No matter what happens from here I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Having coached his daughter from little league through high school, Kevin McGranahan is justifiably proud of how she has grown during her time on the diamond.

“Katrina has always been there for her team and has done everything she can to help the team succeed,” he said. “She has a natural athletic ability that has been a pleasure to coach and mold her into the athlete and person she is today.

“Softball has always been her passion. To see her achieve her goal is awesome,” Kevin McGranahan added. “Incoming freshmen and future Coupeville softball players should understand the commitment and off-season work that goes into making yourself the best you can be.

“Softball doesn’t end, the season comes and goes, but it is a year-long sport just like any other, and if you put in the work you will see the results.”

When Katrina transitions to the college game, her dad will change roles.

“I am excited to just be dad next year and get to watch from the sideline,” Kevin McGranahan said.

“Of course, once a coach always a coach, and it will be hard to not try to coach her after the games,” he added with a laugh.

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Prairie nights under the lights!!

Posted in Band, Fashionable Fans, tagged , , , , , on October 30, 2017| Leave a Comment »

   Coupeville cheerleader/band member Mckenzie Meyer slows down just long enough to get a hug from mom Sarah. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)

   Wolf spikers Ashley Menges (left) and Scout Smith swing by to support their classmates.

Security has been alerted that these three scamps are in the stadium.

Daniel Olson disappears into the Drum Zone.

Steve and Wendi Hilborn enjoy a night on the prairie.

   The snack shack hums along with (l to r) Kyla Briscoe, Connie Lippo and Katrina McGranahan running things.

The CHS Musician of the Year, Allison Wenzel, lays down a funky beat.

Yes, Ben Olson is taking requests. Thanks for asking.

   Kathy Bayne (right) magically appears, bearing beverages for all, to the delight of Tami (left) and Payton Aparicio.

Sometimes there’s more action off the field.

Whenever he hits a game, like he did Friday night when he prowled the sidelines as Coupeville football played, John Fisken likes to swing his camera around to the audience as well.

The pics above, a mix of fans, snack shop operators and CHS band members, remind you why life under the Friday Night Lights is a prep sports experience like none other.

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