Kurtis Smith, hero of the prairie.
Watch out, here comes Whidbey!
Jake Tumblin scored from second on an RBI single off the bat of Kurtis Smith in the bottom of the eighth inning Saturday morning, lifting the Coupeville High School baseball squad to a 1-0 extra-inning victory over Overlake at the 1A Tri-District tourney.
The win clinched a state berth for the Wolves (13-10) for the first time since 2008 and they will join Island mates South Whidbey in being part of the big dance.
Coupeville, which started the day at Sehome High School, now moves over to Meridian to play in the 3rd/4th place game at 4 PM.
If the Wolves win, they open the state tourney May 24 in Anacortes. If they lose, they travel to Castle Rock.
Either place, if they win two games next Saturday, they would head to Yakima for the state semifinals and the school’s first banner in any team sport in a decade plus.
Playing their private school counterparts Saturday, Coupeville benefited from another strong performance on the mound from Ben Etzell. The senior hurler twice punched out a batter to end an inning with a runner camped at third.
The second time he pulled the trick came in the top of the seventh, when Overlake had the bags juiced.
Etzell got defensive help from Tumblin, his catcher, and centerfielder Wade Schaef.
Schaef pulled off the web gem of the morning when he snagged a difficult fly to center, then gunned down a runner straying off of second to complete the double play.
With the game still scoreless, and Etzell about to be lifted in favor of reliever Aaron Trumbull, CHS finally found a run in the bottom of the eighth.
Schaef led off with a walk, but was forced at second on a grounder by Tumblin. The speedy senior then took second on a passed ball, before scampering home to be mobbed after Smith ripped a shot back up the middle.
The final run of the group that won a state title in little league as eighth and seventh graders rolls on, and the questions remains: why not us?
Why not, indeed.
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Coupeville Sports 