“Excuse me ladies, I have to go be awesome now.” (Jackie Saia photos)
Melanie Navarro is just here to mash softballs and chew gum, and apparently, she was all out of gum Wednesday afternoon.
So, the Coupeville High School senior instead kicked off her final season on the prairie by swinging a big bat, whacking two home runs en route to a three-hit, six-RBI performance.
Powered by Navarro, the Wolves dominated visiting South Whidbey in every facet of the game, rolling to a 20-2 win in a game called after five innings due to the mercy rule.
Playing in its season opener, Coupeville was in control from first pitch to last pitch.
And frankly, the 2B Wolves could have waxed the 1A Falcons by a lot more than 18 runs, if CHS coach Kevin McGranahan hadn’t carefully done what he could to keep the game from getting too out of hand.
Coupeville picked up most of its outs by having runners intentionally leave base too early, a quiet, but effective way to show some mercy.
In a game in which the Wolves swung aggressively — Maya Lucero launched a wicked liner off of McGranahan’s jaw as the diamond guru patrolled the third-base box, leaving a visible mark — CHS scored early, and often.
Wolf hurler Allie Lucero zipped through the top of the first inning 1-2-3, collecting a pair of strikeouts and a soft comebacker to the pitcher’s circle, and then the hometown bats started booming.
Coupeville put up nine runs in the bottom of the first, and there was little South Whidbey could do to stop the rampaging Wolves.
Freshman catcher Teagan Calkins was plunked by the first pitch she saw, then came around to score on an RBI double to center from Mia Farris.
Taylor Brotemarkle followed by eking out a walk, Madison McMillan got aboard on an error, and it was time for Navarro to launch her season of longballs.
Home run #1 came on a laser shot to the deepest part of centerfield, the ball splashing down right in front of the fence, then kicking away from the Falcon fielder.
Running full tilt, with no lag in her step, Navarro easily beat the throw home, her three-run tater staking CHS to a 5-0 lead.
Not that the Wolves were done.
Singles from Allie Lucero, Jada Heaton, and Calkins kept the runners bouncing from base to base, with two Falcon errors helping them come around to tap home.
Up 9-0, McGranahan moved things along by having a runner drift off base to prematurely end the first frame, but the Wolves scored in every inning, so there was little slow to their roll.
Navarro came back around in the second to crush a two-run home run over the fence, the ball heading up to high-five the moon, then she departed the game for a bit as the Wolves got field time for most of their roster.
Melanie Navarro (jumping in middle) is mobbed by her teammates after launching a longball.
South Whidbey stayed plucky, pushing across a pair of runs in the top of the third to cut the margin down to 11-2, but Coupeville tacked on three more in its half of the inning, and six more in the fourth to set the final score.
The brief Falcon rally was ended, emphatically, thanks to McMillan pulling off a dandy unassisted double play at third base.
Spearing a liner for out #2, the Wolf super sophomore whirled and tagged a drifting runner for out #3, her grin beaming from behind her face mask.
The third inning featured back-to-back big hits from Farris and Brotemarkle, plus Chloe Marzocca thrashing a shot down the right field line for a base knock of her own.
Taylor Brotemarkle (left) and Chloe Marzocca, killers in red and black.
In the fourth, it was a rat-a-tat attack, after foreign exchange student Layla Heo led off with a walk in her American softball debut.
Farris and Brotemarkle both smoked shots down the third-base line, before Navarro, back in the lineup, completed a 3-for-3 afternoon with an RBI single.
The final big blow on opening day jumped off of Heaton’s bat, as the sophomore slugger crunched a two-run single to bring in runs 19 and 20.
It was an equal opportunity kind of day for the Wolves, who delivered hits from the top of the lineup to the bottom.
Farris and Navarro led the way, collecting three hits apiece, while Brotemarkle smacked a pair of base-knocks.
Calkins, McMillan, Allie Lucero, Heaton, and Marzocca each had one base hit, while Coupeville racked up eight walks, with Calkins and McMillan earning two each.
Allie and Maya Lucero split pitching duties, with the latter relieving the former midway through the third, and the duo combined to whiff seven Falcons across five innings.
McGranahan got 12 players on the field, with Sofia Peters starting at second base and providing strong defensive play, and newcomer Bailey Thule garnering her first varsity at-bat.
Thanks to Mother Nature messing with the schedule, the Wolves get right back at it Thursday, traveling to Meridian for another non-conference rumble.
After that, Coupeville plays seven of its next nine games on its home field.
