
CHS freshman Kylie Van Velkinburgh made her high school pitching debut Monday afternoon in Oak Harbor. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Stretch yourself now, try new things, and it may pay off down the road.
JV sports are about mixing and matching, seeing who can excel while playing multiple positions.
And, while the Coupeville High School JV softball squad fell 15-3 at Oak Harbor Monday, the Wolves got a chance to build for the future.
The Wolves, now 2-1 on the season, put freshman Kylie Van Velkinburgh in the pitcher’s circle for the first time, and she went the distance, facing 27 hitters.
That’s huge, as Coupeville tries to build a solid pitching staff at the JV level.
Van Velkinburgh’s best inning was the bottom of the second, when she erased three Wildcat hitters in order, ending things by taking down the top two hitters in the lineup.
While Coupeville’s JV was hoping to follow in the footsteps of the school’s varsity softball players and upend a 3A school, Wolf bats had a rare cold day.
McKenna Somes smashed a single in the first inning, but that was it for CHS, which did manage to eke out seven walks.
They came from seven different Wolf hitters as well, with Lily Leedy, Heidi Meyers, Van Velkinburgh, Abby Meyers, Chloe Wheeler, Morgan Stevens, and Amanda Thomas all reaching base thanks to possessing eagle eyes.
Marenna Rebischke-Smith and Ivy Leedy rounded out the lineup for the Wolves, who now head into a long break.
The JV isn’t scheduled to play again until Apr. 10, while the Wolf varsity takes the field five times during that stretch.
When they do get back into action, Coupeville’s young guns have eight games left on their schedule, including a rematch Apr. 18 with Oak Harbor.
That game is set to go down on Coupeville’s diamond.