Coupeville masher Madison McMillan opened summer softball travel ball play with a barrage of extra-base hits. (Jackie Saia photo)
The Thunder rolls, once more.
Drawing players from five high schools, and headlined by the Coupeville triple threat of Taylor Brotemarkle, Madison McMillan, and Teagan Calkins, there’s only one U18 select softball squad to follow this summer.
That’s the Whidbey Thunder, coached by Oak Harbor diamond guru Matt Suto, who kicked off tournament play this past weekend.
With a squad which unites Wolf and Wildcat players with sluggers from Anacortes, Sedro-Woolley, and (soon) Lakewood, the squad has talent, depth, and star power.
Getting the travel ball season off in style, the Thunder battled through a rain-soaked Western World Qualifier in Sedro Woolley, nabbing a win and two ties before the liquid sunshine washed away the rest of the bracket.
Coupeville diamond dandies Calkins and Brotemarkle teamed up with Sedro hurler Zoe Abbott to pull off the biggest finish of any of Whidbey’s four games.
Tied 2-2 with the Skagit Bats, the Thunder foe cracked a leadoff triple in the final inning, putting it on the cusp of victory.
Not so fast there, Skippy!
Having intentionally walked the bases full to set up a force-out, Whidbey came up huge in crunch time.
Abbott got out #1 thanks to a strikeout off her “bread and butter change up,” before Coupeville’s tandem pulled off a rally-killing double play.
Calkins, who catches while wearing her Wolf uniform, was patrolling centerfield for the Thunder and snagged a line drive for out #2, before alertly firing a missile to Brotemarkle at second to double off a runner.
Spring or summer, no one runs on Taylor Brotemarkle. (Ryan Blouin photo)
When they weren’t coming up big on defense, the Thunder was busy cracking home runs, with Oak Harbor long ball lovers Layla Suto and Loto Tupu mashing epic taters.
The 2024 Thunder roster features a diverse batch of all-stars, most of whom need to talk to their parents about moving to Coupeville, where they could get extensive coverage for their athletic exploits.
Just sayin’…
The roster (with weekend stats for those who played in the tourney):
Coupeville:
Taylor Brotemarkle — Two singles, one double, two walks
Teagan Calkins — Two singles, one walk
Madison McMillan — One single, two doubles, one walk
Oak Harbor:
Mia Regan — Three singles
Ramona Ryder
Layla Suto — Three singles, one home run, one walk
Loto Tupu — One single, one home run
Anacortes:
Hayden Davies — Three walks
Anna Friedrichs — Two singles, two walks
Sedro-Woolley:
Zoe Abbott — One walk
Jaymie Kallio — One single, one walk
Rylan Konenen
Grace Swenson — One walk
Lakewood:
EmmaJoy Wise
Coupeville Sports 