Tiffany Briscoe whacked a triple Monday, one of five extra-base hits in a 19-14 win. (John Fisken photo)
Have bat. Will bash.
If the Coupeville High School softball players carried business cards, that’s likely what they would say.
All season long, a very young Wolf squad has shown no shyness when it comes to runnin’ ‘n gunnin’ and piling up tons o’ runs.
Monday’s regular season finale was no different.
Blowing the game open with a decisive eight-run burst in the top of the fifth, the Wolves escaped La Conner with a huge 19-14 victory, setting the stage for postseason play.
Now 9-10 on the season, Coupeville, the #3 team from the 1A Olympic League, heads to Sprinker Fields in Spanaway Friday for the West Central District 3 tourney.
The Wolves face Nisqually league #2 Bellevue Christian (10-6) at 6 PM in a loser-out game.
Knock off the Vikings and they stay to battle Olympic League champ Chimacum at 8 PM in the start of the double-elimination portion of the postseason.
Win the opener, which will be the third time Coupeville and BC have played this season (the Wolves won 17-16 in Coupeville and lost 8-1 on the road), and they are guaranteed to return to Spanaway Saturday, regardless of the outcome of game #2.
To take a look at the bracket, pop over to:
http://www.olympicleague.com/tournament.php?tournament_id=1923&sport=15
Looking for a boost headed into the playoffs, the Wolves lit their bats on fire Monday, smacking away for 22 hits.
Kailey Kellner launched a three-run home run, Lauren Rose walloped a solo shot and Katrina McGranahan (triple), Tiffany Briscoe (triple) and Sarah Wright (double) all joined in on the extra-base hit parade.
“Pretty much the whole lineup was hitting today,” said Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan.
For a game that saw 33 runs be plated, it started off deceptively slow, with both teams failing to score a run in the first inning.
Then, the floodgates opened.
The Wolves put together six hits and took advantage of a key La Conner error to open the scoring with five in the top of the second, but then gave the lead right back.
Four in the second and another four in the third staked the Braves to an 8-5 lead and they were still clinging to a 10-7 advantage entering the fifth.
That was when Coupeville decided to get serious, with eight of its nine hitters scoring in the inning.
The Wolves eventually stretched the lead out to 19-12, then coasted home for the non-conference win.
“We made it tougher than it should have been with some errors, but the girls just wouldn’t go away and eventually put the game away with some big bats,” Kevin McGranahan said.
By the time the game was done, all nine CHS starters had scored, with Mikayla Elfrank and Wright stamping on home three times apiece to pace the team.
Rose, Kellner, Jae LeVine, Briscoe, Veronica Crownover and Hope Lodell each scored twice, with Katrina McGranahan the lone Wolf to only score a single time.
The sophomore sensation still saw plenty of action, however, teaming with Wright for a tag-team approach in the pitcher’s circle.
The duo teamed for eight strikeouts on the afternoon.
Back in stride, and with the most wins a Wolf softball squad has had in one season in a very long time, a team with no seniors and just a handful of juniors, will head into the playoffs loose and confident.
“This was a good game to end the season on,” Kevin McGranahan said. “Hopefully we can ride it into districts.”
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