Coupeville Sports

Cody Roberts was one of eight Wolves to collect a hit Friday afternoon. (Morgan White photos)

The little things were a killer.

Playing a must-win game Friday, the Coupeville High School baseball squad outhit host Friday Harbor 10-5, yet still fell 8-6 on the scoreboard.

The difference was the five errors the Wolves committed, the eight walks they surrendered, and the runners they left aboard.

With the loss Coupeville drops to 6-3 in this pandemic-shortened season, while Friday Harbor (9-0) — the only team the Wolves have lost to — clinches the Northwest 2B/1B League title.

The trip was originally supposed to be a doubleheader, but with the first game running long, darkness on the horizon, and a champion crowned, the nightcap was cancelled.

Coupeville went into the afternoon knowing it still had a shot of at least sharing the league crown, but only if it swept both scheduled games from the Wolverines.

That would have left the two squads deadlocked at 8-2 heading into Saturday’s finales.

Instead, the Wolves will look to build on their positives from Friday and bounce back strongly against winless La Conner during a final, no-ferry-required road trip.

Facing off with the crafty, but not overpowering Wolverines, Coupeville went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, then almost did the same to their hosts.

Unfortunately, they came up one batter short, and got stung.

After CHS pitcher Jonathan Valenzuela whiffed the first two Friday Harbor batters, the Wolverines took advantage of a pair of errors wrapped around a walk to ignite a fire.

Two singles made for decent kindling, and what looked like it would be a scoreless tie after one became a 3-0 deficit Coupeville would never quite overcome.

The Wolves had opportunity, as senior Daniel Olson led off the second inning with a resounding triple.

Only he died at third, when Friday Harbor’s pitcher dodged a bullet three straight times.

A Hawthorne Wolfe single also went for naught in the third, and by the time Coupeville found its scoring touch, it trailed 5-0 entering the top of the fourth.

That was Coupeville’s best frame, with a walk to Sage Sharp, singles from Valenzuela, Cody Roberts, and Peyton Caveness, and another big three-bagger — this one from super sophomore Scott Hilborn — putting four runs on the board.

The Wolves knotted things at 5-5 with a run in the fifth, with Sharp and Valenzuela collecting base-knocks, but Friday Harbor promptly reclaimed the lead.

CHS stranded a pair of runners in the sixth, after freshmen Caveness and Zane Oldenstadt got aboard on singles, before almost rallying in the seventh.

Zane Oldenstadt, collecting base-knocks.

Friday Harbor made its own errors, dropping a third strike and booting another ball, allowing the Wolves to trim things to 8-6, but that was as far as it went.

Valenzuela (who had eight K’s on the mound) and Caveness each had a pair of singles, with Wolfe, Sharp, Olson, Hilborn, Roberts, and Oldenstadt chipping in with a hit apiece.

Cole White and Xavier Murdy rounded out the very-young Wolf lineup, in which five of 10 players to see action Friday were freshmen or sophomores.

Read Full Post »