Kylie Van Velkinburgh was one of three Wolves to collect six or more hits Tuesday, as undefeated Coupeville shredded Orcas Island pitching during a doubleheader sweep. (Photo by JohnsPhotos.net)
Get off the tracks or get run over.
Back in action after losing a season to the pandemic, the Coupeville High School softball squad has returned with a vengeance.
Start with fireball-flinging hurler Izzy Wells, toss in a lineup chock full of booming bats, sprinkle with some opportunistic defense, and it’s little wonder the Wolves sit atop the Northwest 2B/1B League with a flawless 7-0 record.
Coupeville’s latest wins came Tuesday, as Kevin McGranahan’s team of assassins swept a doubleheader on Orcas Island, capturing 16-4 and 12-6 wins.
“So we started hitting as soon as we got off the bus and never looked back,” said the CHS diamond guru. “Bella (Whalen) and Chelsea (Prescott) had great games at the plate and were great leaders on the field.
“We are playing good softball, but, of course, we have some stuff to work on. On to Concrete this Friday.”
The Wolves have back-to-back games to finish off this week, following up that road trip Friday with a home game Saturday against Darrington.
That latter game is Senior Night, with first pitch set for 1 PM.
How Tuesday played out:
Game 1:
One game, three stages.
First, a somewhat-surprising opening, as Coupeville fell behind 2-0 after an inning of play, a rare deficit for this high-flying squad.
Second, the Wolves chipped away, retaking the lead in the top of the second, then stretching it out (slightly) to 6-2.
Third, and finally, total freakin’ domination, as CHS went off for five-run explosions in both of the final two frames, sending the lead into double-digits while still getting to play a full seven innings.
The “rally” began with three runs in the second, then two more in the third.
Whalen, who was wailin’ on the ball all day, ripped a one-out single, setting off a string of four straight hits for the Wolves, with Gwen Gustafson, Kylie Van Velkinburgh, and Maya Lucero all dropping balls between fielders.
Next time around, Mollie Bailey slapped a single, before Wells and Whalen smoked back-to-back doubles, with the latter picking up a pair of RBI as the lead moved out to 5-2.
A Gustafson RBI single in the fifth tacked on another run, but the Wolves saved the best part of their 25-hit assault in the opener for the game’s final two innings.
The hits came fast and furious in the sixth and seventh, with Bailey’s double to straight-away center and Audrianna Shaw’s laser shot, which destroyed an Orcas glove, vying for most explosive.
While all nine CHS starters had at least two hits in the game, sophomores Gustafson and Whalen put a little extra shine on things.
Gustafson raked four singles, while Whalen went slightly berserk, torching Viking pitching for five hits, including a thunderous triple and a pair of still-pretty-loud doubles.
Game 2:
After failing to score in the first inning in the opener, Coupeville’s high-octane offense actually went scoreless until the top of the third in the night-cap.
The Wolves had runners on base early, but couldn’t get them around the bags.
They stranded Coral Caveness after she whacked a one-out double to left in the first, then frittered away Whalen and Heidi Meyers after they connected on back-to-back singles in the second.
Wells was on point in the pitcher’s circle, however, keeping the game scoreless until her team’s bats popped back to life.
That happened in the third, as the Wolves first five hitters all reached base, with three scoring.
Singles from Shaw and Van Velkinburgh set the table, before big boppers Prescott (an RBI double) and Bailey (a two-run single) sent their teammates scampering for home.
The game took on the look of a blowout as Coupeville plated six more in the fourth, coming on the heels of Wells firing off another 1-2-3 inning.
While the Orcas book lost a run somewhere that frame, it shouldn’t be too hard to find if the Vikings go back and look for it.
This time, eight of 10 hitters reached base, with only a well-timed double play by Orcas, off of a wicked Wells liner back to the mound, helping the Vikings escape.
Shaw dumped an RBI single in front of a defender, with Allie Lucero sliding under the tag at home to kick things off.
Runs also came in courtesy a bases-loaded walk by Bailey, a hard smash by Whalen which was booted at third, a Meyers RBI single, a titanic RBI double to dead center from Jill Prince, and a passed ball which allowed Gustafson to sprint home.
One-two-three-four-five-six. Go count ’em a second time, overly-defensive Orcas announcer.
Up 9-0, and not 8-0, the Wolves gave some back, with Orcas eking out three runs apiece in both the fourth and fifth.
But Coupeville also put up its own three-spot in the fifth, with Prescott’s two-run single the defining blow, to keep the final margin at 12-6.
After Wells gunned down the Vikings 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, the game, which was already official, was called for darkness.
Since softball was humming along, and the two school’s baseball teams still managed to play for another 20 minutes or so to reach the official end of their second game, I kind of agree with the Orcas announcer that the umps could have “let them play.”
But, both coaches seemed fine with the decision, knowing if Coupeville ran off a long offensive explosion in the top of the seventh, Orcas would never see the plate again.
On the day, Whalen crunched a team-high seven base-knocks, including three of her team’s seven extra-base hits.
Shaw (6), Van Velkinburgh (6), Bailey (5), Prescott (4), Gustafson (4), Caveness (3), Maya Lucero (2), Wells (2), Meyers (1), Prince (1), and Allie Lucero (1) all added hits, as every Wolf to play had at least one.
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