Bam.
Ben Etzell can still lift his arm, so it’s all good. (Sylvia Arnold photo)
He was carrying them to state, even if his arm fell off.
Coupeville High School senior right hander Ben Etzell was flat-out brilliant (once again) Saturday, crushin’ it in the hottest spotlight.
With his team’s first trip to state in six seasons hanging in the balance, he hucked 143 pitches over eight innings against Overlake in a tri-district game.
As Wolf reliever Aaron Trumbull warmed up, the Wolves came through in the bottom of the eighth to send Etzell out a winner.
When Kurtis Smith smoked a single back up the middle, Jake Tumblin went from zero to 90 in .03 of a second, singeing the base paths as he tore from second to home with the game-winning run in a 1-0 thriller.
Now, Etzell has a week to ice his arm down and get ready for Rochester in the opening game of the state tourney.
16 teams left alive, and one of them is because of the dude who hit 143 on the counter.
P.S. — Rochester had a pitcher, Dylan Fosnacht, throw 194 pitches over 15 innings in a district game last week, garnering national attention.
Let’s get ready to rumble!!
Coupeville Sports 