CJ Smith, working quickly and effectively. (Shelli Trumbull photo)
Willie Smith likes to be home early for dinner.
So the Coupeville High School baseball coach had to be thrilled Thursday, when his starting pitcher, CJ Smith, tossed a quick shut-out and sent Coupeville to the parking lot with a zippy 8-0 win over visiting Chimacum.
The victory, the fourth straight for the Wolves, lifted them to 6-4 overall, 2-0 in Olympic League play.
It also gives them sole possession of first place in the league standings, though a big showdown looms in five days.
That’s when Coupeville travels to Klahowya (8-0, 1-0) to face the top-ranked 1A team in the first statewide coach’s poll.
With one non-conference game between now and then — Saturday at home against Friday Harbor (2 PM) — the Wolves are starting to click on all cylinders.
CJ Smith, ever cool and calm, used just 76 pitches to carve up the Cowboys.
It was the fourth straight complete game for the Wolf starting pitchers, with Smith having tossed two of them.
“Not only is that a great reflection on him and how hard he was pounding the zone, but, as I told the boys, it’s a reflection on how well we played behind him on defense,” Willie Smith said.
The Wolf hurler got strong back-up from Josh Bayne, who went far to his left in right center to erase a would-be double, and Kyle Bodamer, who made a sliding catch near the left field line to end the sixth inning.
At the plate the Wolves continued to show a patient eye, collecting nine walks and three hit batters (“I keep telling the boys, if they’re gonna wink at them, they’re going to get hit!!”) to go with six hits.
Aaron Curtin and Hunter Smith each rapped out a pair of hits, with Curtin knocking in three runs.
Regardless of how they got on base, once there, the Wolves ran wild.
“We ran the bases extremely well (10 stolen bases) and put a lot of pressure on their defense with our speed and aggression on the base-paths,” Willie Smith said.
Coupeville broke the game open with three runs in the second.
Hunter Smith rapped a single, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch, then Bayne walked and stole second as well.
Swinging a hot bat of late, Cole Payne cracked a two-run single, then scored on Curtin’s double.
The Smith brothers teamed up to kick-start a rally later, with Hunter plating CJ with his second hit of the afternoon, before Payne, Curtin and Bodamer all collected RBIs to end the day’s scoring.
The only downside for the Wolves was injuries to Bodamer (hamstring strain) and Payne (bum ankle), but both are expected to be back on their feet in time for the trip to Klahowya.
