CHS softball seniors Hope Lodell (2), Lauren Rose (8) and Katrina McGranahan (11) gaze out across the prairie one final time. (Cheri McGranahan photos)
The trio link up with manager Kayla Rose.
“They are all my daughters.”
As the afternoon faded into early evening Wednesday, Coupeville High School softball coach Kevin McGranahan took the mic and spoke from the heart.
A tall, burly dude, a career military man, he can look like a tough guy from a distance, but up close there is another side to the diamond guru, one which clearly shone through as he tried to tamp down the emotion in his voice.
His Wolf squad had lost a ball game, falling 13-5 to a strong-hitting 2A Sequim team which has taken large strides from the unit which Coupeville swept two games from last year.
But one loss does not a season make, and facing tough foes will hopefully strengthen the Wolves, who sit at 11-6 with one regular season game remaining Friday at Port Angeles.
CHS is the 1A Olympic League champs and begins the double-elimination district tourney May 18.
A year ago, the Wolves came within one strike of making it to state, and McGranahan is firmly focused on what it will take to get the two wins necessary to punch Coupeville’s ticket to the big dance.
Except, as the sun crept away Wednesday, the clouds slid over the prairie and the cupcakes were handed out, he had a lot more on his mind.
Looking at his four seniors — Lauren Rose, Hope Lodell, manager Kayla Rose, and then, finally, daughter Katrina McGranahan — the Wolf coach saw the past, the present and the future, all captured in one moment.
He’s in his third season at the helm of the CHS program, but has coached these young women, and many of their teammates, since they were in their early days on the diamond.
They went to the state tournament in little league, back when they called themselves the Venom, and then they reunited to carry the high school program to heights rarely seen on the prairie.
Lauren Rose, Lodell and Katrina McGranahan have been starters for CHS since the first moment they stepped on the field as freshmen, playing for Deanna Rafferty, who stayed around for only one season as a coach.
Kevin McGranahan returned from a deployment after that, stepped into the coaching gig, Kayla Rose became team manager, and the Wolves have gone 39-22 since that moment.
Last year’s 19-5 squad, which saw the trio make the All-League team (Katrina McGranahan was MVP), was the best since the immortal 2002 Wolf softball sluggers.
Wednesday they couldn’t overcome Sequim’s power, but it didn’t diminish the moment.
“These seniors have and always will have a special place in my softball coaching memories,” Kevin McGranahan said. “Yes, my daughter Katrina is ending her high school softball career, but she is not my only daughter moving on this year.
“The coaches and I spend so much time with these players they all become like daughters to us.”
Playing at home for the final time, the trio, who are vastly different in personality yet united in their integrity, work ethic and genuine love for their teammates, all had a major impact.
Lodell lashed an RBI triple to center, the ball coming off her bat like a cannon, then dipping and biting pay-dirt as it skipped merrily past a charging fielder.
Rose cracked a single to center, one of two times she reached base, while Katrina McGranahan peppered a pair of singles, including one in her final at-bat on the field she has claimed as her own.
Coupeville rallied from an early two-run deficit to build a 4-2 lead after two innings, plating three in the first and a single run in the second.
The big base-knocks came from Katrina McGranahan and Scout Smith, who both collected RBI singles, but Sequim’s extra-base power soon chipped away at the lead.
Four runs in the top of the third gave the visitors the lead, and after Chelsea Prescott and Lodell got one back with a pair of triples, Coupeville’s offense sputtered out for a bit.
Sequim took advantage, pushing the lead from 6-5 out to 13-5 while the Wolves went down in order in the fourth and fifth innings.
CHS got metal on ball, with Emma Mathusek being flat-out robbed when a Sequim infielder made a sensational stabbing catch on a liner back up the middle that had extra bases written all over it.
Coupeville shut down the visitors over the final two innings, with Lodell making a superb catch in deep center on the run, but was never able to get its offense back to its early-game fireworks.
The Wolves finished with seven hits, with Katrina McGranahan leading the way with a pair of singles.
Prescott and Lodell had their triples, while Rose, Smith and Veronica Crownover all added a base-hit.
While the loss chips away slightly at Coupeville’s record, that was largely overlooked in the post-game Senior Night festivities.
Catcher Sarah Wright, reading the words written by Katrina McGranahan, choked up and had to fan herself for a moment when she neared the end, where the Wolf hurler talked about her partner.
“We started the sport together and I’m happy to be ending the sport with you. I loved watching you grow not only as an athlete but a person as well. I love y’all, thanks for being a part of me.”
It was a sentiment spread to all her teammates by Lauren Rose, known as “Mouse,” “Munchkin,” “Lo” and “Keebler Elf” at various points over the years.
“I am beyond blessed to have so many memories with this group of girls from little league with the juniors and seniors to these past couple years with the underclassmen,” Rose wrote.
“Without you guys this team would not be nearly as exciting as it is. It may be Senior Night but our season is far from over!”
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