“Dang, scored too many runs and broke the counter again…” (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
The tune-up went off flawlessly.
Playing on the road a day before its biggest game in 16 years, the Coupeville High School softball squad was humming Thursday afternoon.
Crushing 20 hits in just five innings of play, the Wolves obliterated La Conner 18-3 in a game which could have been far, far more one-sided.
CHS coach Kevin McGranahan gave quality time to bench players, never used his pitching ace in the circle and had the big boppers in his lineup practice their in-game bunting skills late in the game.
And still the Wolves romped, running their record to 8-3 headed into Friday’s home rumble with Klahowya.
Win that game (and CHS shellacked the Eagles 15-1 the first time around) and Coupeville clinches its first league title since 2002.
Thanks to rain and a patch-work schedule, Klahowya hasn’t played a single game since being bashed by the Wolves.
Meanwhile, Coupeville has gotten in another seven non-conference contests, going 5-2 with just losses to powerhouse Forks, during that time.
“We are as ready as we can be for Klahowya tomorrow and can now squarely set our sights on them,” Kevin McGranahan said.
His squad, even missing star shortstop Lauren Rose, who was off looking at colleges, played just about to perfection against La Conner.
Coupeville’s pitching ace, Katrina McGranahan, rested her arm, pulling time at short and third while the young guns, sophomore Scout Smith and freshman Chelsea Prescott, shared time in the circle.
Smith whiffed a pair of Braves sluggers while tossing the first two innings, made a sensational running catch over her shoulder at short in the fourth, then returned to close the game in the fifth.
Prescott, who has been a fixture at third base from day one of the season, made her varsity pitching debut and fired BB’s past La Conner in the third and fourth.
With the young duo humming, Coupeville wouldn’t have needed many runs to win. But good luck trying to stop the express train when it’s rolling.
The Wolves unloaded for five runs in both the first and second innings and put the game out of sight early.
While CHS got RBI singles from Katrina McGranahan, Sarah Wright and Mackenzie Davis in the top of the first (two other runs came around thanks to smart base-running), there was one early at-bat which wowed the gathered masses.
That came courtesy Wolf first-baseman Veronica Crownover, who worked the La Conner hurler through approximately 237 pitches.
The Coupeville junior crushed the snot out of a pair of foul balls which curved to the left and ended up down around Fidalgo Island to start things off.
Both were wicked liners which banged off of nearby buildings and would have been home runs if Crownover had gotten either ball to straighten out slightly.
La Conner’s pitcher had the look of a deer gazing softly into a semi truck’s oncoming headlights, and seemed genuinely relieved when the next foul ball went straight back and buried itself into a patch of trees.
Fouls #4 and #5 shot down the third-base line, with the second one causing Kevin McGranahan to jump a good two feet into the air to keep from earning a tattoo on his ankle.
“Ha! Didn’t think I could do that, did you??” the CHS coach chuckled, then took a quick step or two back as Crownover hefted her bat once more.
She finally reached base, coasting into second base after blasting a shot to left-center which skidded off the center-fielder’s glove and bounced madly away.
The whole let’s-smash-the-heck-outta-the-ball plan was just getting started, however.
Cue the second inning and Prescott, who strode to the plate with the bases juiced and no outs.
A single by Coral Caveness, a walk to Katrina McGranahan and Wright beating out a chopper set the table, and then the full meal was served.
Prescott, going full Mike Trout on the ball, crushed it, sending a cannon shot which punched a hole in the heavens, curled hard and plunged, biting a chunk of turf out of the deepest part of right field.
With first-base coach Ron Wright having a stroke yelling at his runners to get their feet moving before Prescott passed them, the fab frosh never broke stride, sliding under the tag for an inside-the-park grand salami.
And yet, there’s more! Much more!
Coupeville still had nine more runs to plate on this day, with Emma Mathusek, Nicole Laxton (twice) and Smith (twice) collecting RBI base-knocks in the later going.
Add a run-scoring ground-out off the bat of freshman Mollie Bailey, and the only thing preventing the Wolves from short-circuiting the scoreboard was their own sense of humility and fair play.
When Wright, your clean-up hitter, a basher and a bruiser who entered the game hitting .500 on the season, is dropping a bunt in the fifth (and safely making it to first), the brakes are as fully-applied as possible.
“They (La Conner) were a young team and learning as they go,” Kevin McGranahan said.
Coupeville spread the love, with nine of 11 active players getting a hit.
Prescott, Katrina McGranahan and Mathusek led the way with three base-knocks apiece, while Smith, Caveness, Wright, Crownover and Laxton collected two apiece.
Davis added a hit on a pool table shot that drifted past the pitcher, then spun madly, while Bailey had an RBI and Hope Lodell walked and played stellar defense in center.
