Freshman Capri Anter, seen here in an earlier game, pitched and hit Coupeville to a win Thursday afternoon. (Ryan Blouin photo)
“Love it when a plan comes together.”
Coupeville High School softball coach Kevin McGranahan exited the field Thursday with a smile on his face, and a skip to his step.
His Wolves, ranked #9 in 2B by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, cruised past visiting La Conner 14-2 in five innings, and they did it exactly the way the diamond guru drew it up.
“The plan was to rest most of the starters and play the bench players a lot and have Capri (Anter) eat up five innings in the circle,” McGranahan said.
“Check, check, and check.”
The win lifts Coupeville to 4-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 7-1 overall, while allowing key players to stay fresh for Saturday’s major showdown with highly regarded non-conference foe Forks.
The Wolves kept sophomore catcher Teagan Calkins in place to give the team a calm hand at the wheel, while mixing and matching their other players.
Normal starters Mia Farris, Jada Heaton, and Haylee Armstrong sat this one out, while Madison McMillan, Taylor Brotemarkle, and Sydney Van Dyke saw limited action.
Which didn’t slow the Wolves down, as every young woman in pinstripes was on point Thursday, combining to rack up six hits and 19 walks in a game which could have been much, much more lopsided.
Five of Coupeville’s nine outs across the second, third, and fourth inning came from having players intentionally leave base early.
That ensured the game would make it to five innings and the second mercy rule (10+ runs), and not be ended after three innings if CHS was up by 15 at that point.
La Conner actually held the lead for a hot second, scraping out a run in the top of the first thanks to a pair of hits.
After that, Anter, who finished with eight strikeouts, was virtually untouchable in the pitcher’s circle.
Calkins, who was frequently (and loudly) hailed as “The Red Dragon” by her bench, provided a burst of defensive excellence as well.
Spring up from behind the plate, she snared a popped-up bunt for one out, while twice gunning down runners who strayed too far off the bag.
Coupeville got all the offense it would need in the bottom of the first, and it began with Anter.
The fab frosh whacked a one-out triple to left, then scampered home on a passed ball to knot the score at 1-1.
From there, the Wolves used six walks, a couple of La Conner wild pitches, and an error to push the lead out to 5-1 at the end of the frame.
The most painful of those walks provided an RBI, as Mary Western got plunked with a wayward pitch and wore it well, to the delight of her teammates.
Danica Strong (left) took advantage of better weather Thursday, reaching base twice. (Michelle Armstrong photo)
CHS stretched the advantage out to 12-1 through two innings, scoring seven more thanks to six walks and a pair of two-run singles from Danica Strong and Ava Lucero.
Strong’s base knock was especially impressive, as she stood tall to track down a pitch headed for the backstop and instead rammed it back up the middle between two defenders.
The Wolves added two more runs in the third, but no more, and did everything humanly possible not to score in the fourth — despite a double and three walks.
The two-bagger came off the bat of Calkins, with the righty flipping around and hitting from the left side in an effort to showcase her ability to be sublimely awesome in every aspect of the game.
Thursday stats:
Capri Anter — One triple, two walks
Taylor Brotemarkle — One walk
Teagan Calkins — One single, one double
Shania Kenney — One walk
Ava Lucero — One single, two walks
Adeline Maynes — Three walks
Madison McMillan — One single
Chelsi Stevens — Three walks
Danica Strong — One single, one walk
Bailey Thule — Three walks
Mary Western — Two walks
Melanie Wolfe — One walk
