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Posts Tagged ‘La Conner’

Calkins crushes, Wolves romp

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on May 2, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“It’s time, Sir Reginald, time for us to once more go forth and destroy the hopes and dreams of our rivals.” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

The “Red Dragon” can only be stopped one way — by being forced to sit on the bench.

Put Teagan Calkins in the game, and the Coupeville High School sophomore catcher is going to start popping her biceps and beatin’ the crud out of the softball.

It is just the way of her people.

So, Wolf coach Kevin McGranahan parked his excitable star in the dugout for half of Thursday’s game at La Conner — AFTER she launched yet another home run — and gave nearly everyone on the roster a chance to join in the assault.

Even after giving up numerous outs by having runners intentionally leave base early, the Wolves crushed the host Braves 14-0 in a game mercy-ruled after five innings.

The victory, in which 13 CHS players reached base, lifts the Wolves to 9-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 12-4 overall.

They won’t get a chance to make up a rained-out game against NWL rival Concrete but will play two home non-conference tilts as they prep for the playoffs.

First up is a visit from Nooksack Valley Friday, followed by a rematch against South Whidbey May 10.

After that, Coupeville, the top team in District 1, heads off to Centralia May 18 to play a District 4 team in a winner-to-state, loser-out playoff rumble.

Shania Kenney was one of nine Wolves to rip a hit Thursday in La Conner. (Claire Kalwies-Anderson photo)

Thursday’s game in La Conner was one-sided in every way, as Wolf pitchers Adeline Maynes, Haylee Armstrong, and Capri Anter combined to toss a one-hitter, whiffing nine Braves.

Maynes, already an ace as just an 8th grader, retired all six batters she faced.

Coupeville, by contrast, couldn’t be stopped on offense, rapping out 14 hits and piling up 12 walks.

The Wolves plated six runners in the top of the first, not getting their first out until batter #7.

Walks to Armstrong and Sydney Van Dyke set the table, with Taylor Brotemarkle, Madison McMillan, Calkins, and Bailey Thule thumping consecutive hits to get the scoreboard hoppin’.

Five more runs came across in the second, with Calkins cranking a two-run tater to deep left, flying around the basepaths and sliding home long before the ball arrived back in the infield.

Proving they can play small ball to go with long ball, the Wolves spent a considerable part of the rest of the game working on bunts.

The best one probably came off the bat of Armstrong, as she dropped one for an RBI single, the ball nestling into the ground in front of the third baseman and promptly tunneling its way to China.

Coupeville did everything possible not to end the game super-early, adding just a single run in the third, and two more in the fourth.

Still, even though they went five innings, and didn’t go for the early 20-run KO in three frames, it capped a league season in which CHS mercy-ruled every foe.

“We had fun and worked on some stuff we don’t always get to work on, all while keeping the score reasonable,” McGranahan said.

“The best part is we return everyone next season, so the expectation is to do it all over again.”

That points to the fact that Coupeville has no seniors, and typically starts three 8th graders and two freshmen among its main 10 players.

 

Thursday stats:

Capri Anter — One single
Haylee Armstrong — Two singles, one walk
Taylor Brotemarkle — One single, three walks
Teagan Calkins — One home run, one single
Jada Heaton — One single
Shania Kenney — One single
Ava Lucero — One walk
Adeline Maynes — Two singles, one walk
Madison McMillan — One double, two singles, one walk
Chelsi Stevens — One walk
Bailey Thule — One single, one walk
Sydney Van Dyke — Two walks
Mary Western — One walk

Optical illusion, or is Jada Heaton so strong she literally bends her bat when making contact? Discuss. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

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Rally kings stun Braves

Posted in Baseball, tagged , , , , , on April 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Wolf pitchers (l to r) Landon Roberts, Camden Glover, Seth Woollet, and Coop Cooper celebrate. (Sherry Bonacci photo)

Never count ’em out.

After twice rallying from three runs down Thursday, the Coupeville High School varsity baseball squad forced extra innings with visiting La Conner, then KO’d the Braves on a walk-off hit.

When Camden Glover’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth hit paydirt on the prairie, it capped an improbable, but very rewarding 9-8 victory.

It also keeps the Wolves, now 3-2 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, just a game out of first place.

Coupeville, which is 4-7 overall heading into a trip to Forks Saturday, is tied with Friday Harbor in the NWL standings.

Those two sit a half-game behind Orcas Island (3-1) and a game back of current frontrunner Mount Vernon Christian (4-1) with half the season left to play.

Thursday’s titanic tilt went in favor of La Conner for much of the afternoon, though Coupeville kept chipping away and hanging around.

After trailing 1-0 early, the Wolves pushed two runners across in the bottom of the second to take their only lead of the game until the day’s final play.

Landon Roberts knotted the game at 1-1 on an RBI groundout, before Peyton Caveness, who leads the Wolves in most offensive categories this season, delivered an RBI single to put his team in front.

Peyton Caveness (8) fires up his team. (Jackie Saia photo)

Coupeville wouldn’t score again until the fifth, however, giving the Braves ample opportunity to surge back in front.

Four runs in the top of the third put La Conner up 5-2, but then Wolf pitchers strung together three scoreless frames to give their offense time to warm back up.

CHS notched a pair of runs in the fifth, with Steven Gonzalez, Carson Grove, and Roberts stepping up with big-time hits, before the Wolves got all the way back with a tally in the sixth.

Cole White lashed a single, stole second, scooted to third on a wild pitch, then screamed home with the tying run when La Conner once again couldn’t maintain control of the madly bouncing baseball.

Back in a 5-5 tie, the Wolves were rocking and rolling and then … gave it all right back.

The Braves smacked a pair of base hits and took advantage of a Coupeville error to plate three runners in the top of the seventh, and things looked bleak.

Until they didn’t, as the yo-yo effect the game had continued to play out in often surprising fashion.

Grove, just an 8th grader, delivered his second hit of the game to lead off Coupeville’s last stand, but was promptly erased thanks to a fielder’s choice.

The Wolves kept coming, however, with a single from Roberts and a walk to Glover keeping things interesting.

Seth Woollet skittered home on a wild pitch to cut it back to 8-6, Caveness launched a sac fly to make it 8-7, and then the game ended.

Or it should have.

White lofted a fly ball that would have been the final out, except La Conner fudged the catch, the ball popping loose from the third baseman’s glove as Glover steamed home with the tying run.

Given new life, and extra baseball, Coupeville took advantage.

Roberts, the fourth Wolf to take the mound on the day, set the Braves down in order in the top of the eighth, as the visitors went down swinging one-two-three.

“Don’t stop believing!” (Ember Light photo)

That sent the hometown heroes back to the plate with the game in their hands, and they played their final song to precision.

Woollet poked a leadoff hit, before Roberts dropped a gorgeous bunt down the third-base line, beating the throw for an infield single.

An error on the La Conner first baseman moved the winning run to third, and Glover rose to the moment, immediately punching a solid line drive to left to plate Woollet and set off a celebration.

That capped a 15-hit performance for the Wolves, with Glover and Roberts leading the way with three base knocks apiece.

Caveness and Grove each added two, with Jack Porter, White, Gonzalez, Coop Cooper, and Woollet rounding out the hit parade.

Coupeville’s pitchers combined to whiff 12 Braves, with Glover picking up six K’s to lead the way. Roberts (3), Woollet (2), and Cooper (1) also chipped in to the effort.

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Diamond queens crunch La Conner

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on April 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Freshman Capri Anter, seen here in an earlier game, pitched and hit Coupeville to a win Thursday afternoon. (Ryan Blouin photo)

“Love it when a plan comes together.”

Coupeville High School softball coach Kevin McGranahan exited the field Thursday with a smile on his face, and a skip to his step.

His Wolves, ranked #9 in 2B by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, cruised past visiting La Conner 14-2 in five innings, and they did it exactly the way the diamond guru drew it up.

“The plan was to rest most of the starters and play the bench players a lot and have Capri (Anter) eat up five innings in the circle,” McGranahan said.

“Check, check, and check.”

The win lifts Coupeville to 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-1 overall, while allowing key players to stay fresh for Saturday’s major showdown with highly regarded non-conference foe Forks.

The Wolves kept sophomore catcher Teagan Calkins in place to give the team a calm hand at the wheel, while mixing and matching their other players.

Normal starters Mia Farris, Jada Heaton, and Haylee Armstrong sat this one out, while Madison McMillan, Taylor Brotemarkle, and Sydney Van Dyke saw limited action.

Which didn’t slow the Wolves down, as every young woman in pinstripes was on point Thursday, combining to rack up six hits and 19 walks in a game which could have been much, much more lopsided.

Five of Coupeville’s nine outs across the second, third, and fourth inning came from having players intentionally leave base early.

That ensured the game would make it to five innings and the second mercy rule (10+ runs), and not be ended after three innings if CHS was up by 15 at that point.

La Conner actually held the lead for a hot second, scraping out a run in the top of the first thanks to a pair of hits.

After that, Anter, who finished with eight strikeouts, was virtually untouchable in the pitcher’s circle.

Calkins, who was frequently (and loudly) hailed as “The Red Dragon” by her bench, provided a burst of defensive excellence as well.

Spring up from behind the plate, she snared a popped-up bunt for one out, while twice gunning down runners who strayed too far off the bag.

Coupeville got all the offense it would need in the bottom of the first, and it began with Anter.

The fab frosh whacked a one-out triple to left, then scampered home on a passed ball to knot the score at 1-1.

From there, the Wolves used six walks, a couple of La Conner wild pitches, and an error to push the lead out to 5-1 at the end of the frame.

The most painful of those walks provided an RBI, as Mary Western got plunked with a wayward pitch and wore it well, to the delight of her teammates.

Danica Strong (left) took advantage of better weather Thursday, reaching base twice. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

CHS stretched the advantage out to 12-1 through two innings, scoring seven more thanks to six walks and a pair of two-run singles from Danica Strong and Ava Lucero.

Strong’s base knock was especially impressive, as she stood tall to track down a pitch headed for the backstop and instead rammed it back up the middle between two defenders.

The Wolves added two more runs in the third, but no more, and did everything humanly possible not to score in the fourth — despite a double and three walks.

The two-bagger came off the bat of Calkins, with the righty flipping around and hitting from the left side in an effort to showcase her ability to be sublimely awesome in every aspect of the game.

 

Thursday stats:

Capri Anter — One triple, two walks
Taylor Brotemarkle — One walk
Teagan Calkins — One single, one double
Shania Kenney — One walk
Ava Lucero — One single, two walks
Adeline Maynes — Three walks
Madison McMillan — One single
Chelsi Stevens — Three walks
Danica Strong — One single, one walk
Bailey Thule — Three walks
Mary Western — Two walks
Melanie Wolfe — One walk

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“Don’t give up on La Conner football”

Posted in Football, tagged , , , , on February 26, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Coupeville vs. La Conner — a rivalry for all time. Bet on the Braves to get back and bet on the Wolves to hammer them once they do. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

A proud program refuses to go down without a fight.

La Conner High School football, which has decades of success, but has hit tough times of recent, was given a new shot at life Monday night.

The district’s school board voted unanimously to commit to the Braves playing an independent 8-man schedule for at least the next two years.

That was one of three options on the table, with the other two being to kill football and focus on boys’ soccer, or to make a deal for La Conner players to join up with Anacortes.

The La Conner board also approved a request from Athletic Director Christine Tripp to form a committee which will focus on setting actionable benchmarks for the gridiron program to achieve.

She stressed the importance of this, stating officials and coaches need to be able to see that football will be ready for play this fall.

From an emphasis on weight room use to the number of students committing to attending a camp and being in place for summer practices, Tripp wants the Braves fully able to move forward in a positive direction.

Safety is a high priority for the AD and her coaches, and they want to have 16+ players on the roster.

La Conner football has advanced to the state tourney as an 11-man team 14 times — 11 times at the 2B level and three times as a 1A school — with the most recent trip in 2016.

The Braves have played in the state semifinals three times, losing to Brewster in 1975, Mossyrock  in 1982, and Morton-White Pass in 2012.

But falling school attendance and a reduction in the number of students playing football in the last couple of years have taken a toll on La Conner.

The Braves have struggled to field a viable roster, and suffered a string of defeats, with lopsided losses to league rivals Coupeville and Friday Harbor.

When the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association tallied its numbers for the next round of classifications, which run from 2025-2028, La Conner just barely made the cut to remain at the 2B level.

While Mount Vernon Christian and Orcas Island, which don’t play football, are moving up to 2B, La Conner will be the smallest of the Northwest League’s five 2B schools in terms of student body.

The Braves appealed to the WIAA to be allowed to play 8-man football, joining 1B league mates Darrington and Concrete, but were denied.

That decision was based on several factors, Tripp told board members.

Two of the biggest was that La Conner was running two “large boys programs side by side,” with soccer and football sharing the fall since the early ’90s.

Also, there are no active community or middle school gridiron programs, which the WIAA said “provides no structure or framework in place to grow the high school program.”

Denied a chance to play 8-man football in a league, La Conner will have to scrape together a schedule, which will present somewhat of a hardship.

Tripp cautioned that the Braves will likely have to play many of their games on the road, as they grab contests by slipping into open spaces where other schools have a bye week.

Also, there is no path to the postseason for independent teams.

Still, Tripp, her coaches, and community members wanted football to remain at La Conner.

“It’s not going to fix itself, but we can fix it,” said one person during the public comment section.

“I don’t believe we are at the point where we give up on our kids,” added another alum and former player.

In the end, Tyler Zimmerman, a 1995 grad and proud former Braves player, summed it up best.

“Don’t give up on La Conner football!”

While Monday night’s results don’t keep La Conner playing 11-man football or competing for state titles, it at least lays the groundwork for a return to that level.

I may be hugely pro-Coupeville, but the Wolves need the Braves.

Some wins mean more than others, and CHS beating LHS when both teams are at full strength is a benchmark for Cow Town.

We all want to see a day when the best pre-game moment in local sports signals the start of a true rivalry game again.

And yes, Wolf fans, that moment is when La Conner football players thrust their helmets skyward and bellow in unison “Home of the Braves!” at the end of the National Anthem at a home football game.

You can’t deny the power and pageantry of that ritual, no matter what school you rep.

So, go, get better, get stronger, La Conner.

The Wolves still want to whup your collective fannies. But they want to do it straight-up, old-school style.

See you in a few years and have your chin strap on tight for the reunion.

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District tourney finale moves to La Conner

Posted in Basketball, tagged , , , , , on February 16, 2024| Leave a Comment »

“We hate to see you go, but we love to watch you walk away!” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)

Coupeville’s support crew gets an early weekend.

The final two games of the District 1/2 basketball tournament — neither of which features a Wolf team — have been moved from the CHS gym to La Conner High School.

The change was made “to accommodate Auburn Adventist’s religious requirements, as well as the limitation of the Friday Harbor ferry options,” said tourney director Willie Smith.

With the change in locale, La Conner will provide its people to handle scorebooks, locker rooms, and such.

The games, which are loser-out, winner-to-state affairs Saturday night, feature the Auburn Adventist Academy girls “hosting” Friday Harbor at 6:00 PM, followed by the La Conner boys hosting AAA at 7:45.

The Coupeville boys and La Conner girls, having won Bi-District title games earlier in the week, have already clinched their tickets to the state tourney.

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