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Posts Tagged ‘Teagan Calkins’

“Time to dig deep”

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on May 5, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Chelsi Stevens dreams of big hits. (Aleksia Jump photo)

It was a little taste of their own medicine.

A Coupeville High School softball squad which has inflicted the 10-run mercy rule on 13 of its first 17 opponents had the tables flipped by Klahowya Tuesday afternoon.

In a rematch of former Olympic League rivals, the red-hot Wolves were largely stifled by Eagles hurler Bailey O’Brien, falling 12-2 in five innings while playing in Silverdale.

The non-conference loss snaps a five-game winning streak for The Smash Sisters, dropping them to 16-2 on the season.

Coupeville will have one more tune-up before heading to the district tourney, travelling to Port Townsend Friday to play East Jefferson, a team it routed 21-3 during the first week of April.

There was supposed to also be a trip to Langley Wednesday to play South Whidbey, but the Falcons bailed at the last second, perhaps still in shock after being routed 17-1 by the Wolves a week-and-a-half ago.

While he wasn’t thrilled with his team’s performance, CHS coach Aaron Lucero had scheduled the game with Klahowya, a 1A school whose 9-11 record is a bit deceiving, intent on getting a challenge.

And like with Forks, the only other team to knock off the Wolves, and 3A Oak Harbor, which gave Coupeville an early-season extra-inning battle, mission accomplished.

“I think this is good for them in the long run to face a quality team,” Lucero said. “I have been telling them for a couple of weeks that Klahowya’s record does not tell the story.

“They are playing some very tough teams and getting very close. And talking with their coaches, that’s exactly how their season’s been.”

Tuesday’s tilt started as a nailbiter and remained close for 92% of the game.

Coupeville pushed a run across in the top of the first thanks to back-to-back base knocks from Teagan Calkins and Chelsi Stevens, before Klahowya answered back with a tally of its own in the bottom of the frame.

The game started to change in the second, however, when Eagle slugger Shyanne Kilmer bashed a two-run home run to right — the first of two taters for her on the afternoon — pushing the host team ahead 3-1.

CHS sliced the deficit to 3-2 on an RBI double off of Calkin’s always-electric bat in the third, but left runners stranded at second and third, unable to open their customary can of whup-ass.

Coupeville is deadly down its lineup from one through nine, but O’Brien whiffed 11 and walked just one Tuesday, and Klahowya never trailed again.

A run in the third made it 4-2, two more in the fourth stretched it to 6-2, and then a six-run rally in the fifth turned a close game into a romp.

For his part Lucero is already ready to get back at it, first with a couple of days of practice, then the regular season finale.

“We did not play the ball we are capable of,” he said. “We didn’t get the timely hits, and we did not play well defensively to back up our pitcher.

“I think this was a good gut check game for the team and definitely needed. Soooo, time to dig deep, get our minds right, and get ready to play the next game.”

 

Tuesday stats:

Haylee Armstrong — Two singles
Teagan Calkins — One single, one double
Chelsi Stevens — One single
Cami Van Dyke — One walk

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“Red Dragon” rules, Wolves romp

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , , on April 29, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins? There ain’t ever been another one quite like her. (Jackie Saia photo)

It ended the only way it could, the only way it should.

“A fly got in my mouth! And it doesn’t want to get out!!”

And with that Teagan Calkins, one of the best to ever wear a Coupeville High School softball uniform, coughed her way to the finish line in her final diamond game on the prairie.

Of course, the Wolf catcher also smashed three hits and threw a runner out trying to steal second, powering the Wolves to a 15-0 mercy-ruled win over visiting Orcas Island.

But the knowledge that the irrepressible Calkins, “The Red Dragon” who has carved out a legendary career of high achievement and great joy, accidentally carried a pesky piece of the prairie away with her, doing its best to dodge her gulps of water?

Chef’s kiss…

Of course, Calkins and the Wolves are far from done.

With Wednesday’s win, coming on Senior Night for its catcher, Coupeville gets to 10-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 16-1 overall.

Ranked #7 in the latest RPI rankings from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the Wolves have the most wins of any 2B diamond program, with non-conference road trips to Klahowya, South Whidbey, and East Jefferson still left on the schedule.

After that comes the district and state tourneys, with CHS softball going to the big dance in back-to-back seasons for the first time ever.

But first they had one last game to play in front of their hyped-up fans, and the day was a smash.

Flawless weather — the prairie offering one tantalizing taste of sunshine after a season of freezing wind and dark skies — the return of power-hitting Capri Anter to the lineup after a stint on injured reserve, and a soaring performance of the national anthem sung by Wolf first-baseman Ava Lucero.

Adeline Maynes was prowling the pitcher’s circle, firing BBs into Calkins glove, and only got into danger once during a 10-strikeout performance.

That came in the top of the first, when Orcas loaded the bags thanks to a walk and a couple of shallow hits.

To which Maynes said, “Not today, sister,” and promptly ended the frame by pouring liquid heat past a hapless Viking who meekly went down swinging and missing.

Coupeville, which pounded out 18 hits on the afternoon, got on the board quickly, before steadily pulling away.

Three runs in the bottom of the first, with Chelsi Stevens plating one on a sac fly before Sydney Van Dyke and Ava Lucero walloped back-to-back RBI hits, got things started.

Haylee Armstrong, a danger to pitchers everywhere. (Aleksia Jump photo)

Another tally went up on the scoreboard in the second, thanks to Haylee Armstrong smashing a low, sinking liner to center, the ball skidding past the fielder as the Wolf leadoff hitter turned a sure thing double into an inside-the-park home run with a mad dash around the basepaths.

It wouldn’t be Coupeville’s only four-bagger, as Maynes lashed her own tater in the middle of a game-busting 16-batter, 11-run explosion in the third inning.

Like Armstrong, the sophomore hurler spanked the ball hard, then showed off her wheels, careening around third and storming home ahead of the throw.

The big blast was part of a run of six straight Wolf batters collecting a base knock to open the frame, with Calkins, Stevens, and Sydney Van Dyke mashing doubles to provide extra pop.

Before the inning was done, 8th grader Zariyah Allen would collect two hits, Maynes would get nicked by a wayward pitch (payback for the homerun??), and Stevens would launch another laser to left, each Wolf making a major impact.

Up 15-0, CHS got playing time for many of its bench players, while also giving its lone senior two final moments to remember.

In the bottom of the fourth a Viking player, surprised to get on base, attempted to steal second.

Springing up from behind the plate Calkins zipped a missile of a throw right onto the glove of shortstop Cami Van Dyke, who alertly slapped the tag on the incoming runner with the fury of an in-his-prime John Cena, dropping the Viking face-first to the infield dirt with a sweet thump.

Chef’s kiss…

To which Calkins, ever the show woman, turned to a prairie fly minding his own business and said “Hey, you all wanna top that?”

“The Red Dragon” abides. (Jackie Saia photo)

 

Wednesday stats:

Zariyah Allen — Two singles
Haylee Armstrong — Two singles, one home run
Teagan Calkins — One single, two doubles
Ava Lucero — Three singles
Adeline Maynes — One home run, one walk
Chelsi Stevens — Two doubles
Cami Van Dyke — One single, one walk
Sydney Van Dyke — One single, two doubles

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A life on the diamond, a moment to treasure

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on April 28, 2026| 1 Comment »

Teagan Calkins? She’s kind of a big deal. (David Somes photo)

The moment comes for everyone.

Whether they have long careers or short runs, Senior Night arrives for every high school athlete.

When it does it can offer a mix of sadness and joy, and it still often surprises me who gets emotional and who doesn’t.

It hits differently for everyone, for the player, the coach, the parents, the fans.

Every Senior Night carries its own weight, but Wednesday afternoon will be unique, as my personal choice for the best CHS softball player of all time exits.

Now, Teagan Calkins, the lone senior on this year’s team, is far from done.

The Wolves still have three non-conference games to play on the road and then head into postseason play with action at districts and state.

But Wednesday (4:00 PM against Orcas Island) marks the final time Teagan will lead her squad on to the field in Cow Town.

The final time she’ll be front and center as the Smash Sisters sing their post-game song.

The final time Teagan will grace her hometown’s softball field with her unique mix of skill, humor, grace, and joy.

The first, but not last, moment Teagan gave side-eye to an umpire. (Photos courtesy Jackie Saia)

Watching her grow from a little league ace into a rampaging teenager, fully becoming “The Red Dragon” and “T-Money,” we have been witness to a remarkable run.

There have been towering home runs.

There have been mad dashes around the basepaths where she seems like she’s begging rival fielders to even dream about throwing her out.

There have been the times where she cracks line drive after line drive at her coach’s head, daring him to stay in the third-base box.

And there have been the times she bounds up from behind the plate, rifling lasers into the gloves of her teammates to nab foolhardy would-be base stealers, chuckling to herself at their naiveite.

But there’s also the times when, working with her pitchers in pre-game warmups, Teagan still takes the time to thank younger players for putting away gear.

Or to say hello to little, wide-eyed girls in their little league uniforms dreaming of one day being where she is.

And all the times when she chatters away, amusing those around her, and most importantly, herself.

Modern-day Teagan has filled up a letterman’s jacket with accomplishments.

The talent has been there from day one. Teagan has excelled at numerous sports and spent many a day playing with girls older than herself to get the full competitive experience.

Put her at any position on the diamond, and she’s a star.

Just watch her in the rare moments when she gets to play center field and promptly chases down every fly ball that lands between the left field foul line and the right field foul line.

But playing the most-demanding role, anchoring a team as catcher, she brings everything to the table. Offense, defense, intangibles, leadership, all delivered with a sense of joy which lights up the prairie.

I have seen Teagan play many, many games, winning a lot and losing a few, and I have yet to see her not enjoying every second which has been given to her on the diamond.

She was born for this — mom Jackie was a softball sensation as well — and her love for the game is undeniable.

Joy may not be her middle name, but it’s a big part of her life.

When you think back on some of the great players in CHS softball history, you remember the talent and the wins, but you also remember the small things.

Hope Lodell flexing her biceps, doing pullups in the dugout between innings.

Jae LeVine dancing on second base after cranking the biggest hit of her career against a pitcher headed to a D-I school.

Veronica Crownover smacking a home run so far into the wilderness Oak Harbor fans are still crying about it years later.

Sarah Wright running through the parking lot at the state tourney, two sandwiches in hand, screaming like a wild woman and laughing hysterically while being chased by a million seagulls.

“The Red Dragon” has some of all that in her makeup. Yet she remains totally unique.

If you’ve never seen her play, if you’ve seen every inning of her career, you can’t pass up Teagan’s swan song on the prairie.

The games come and go, but true legends only walk by every so often.

She was always legendary.

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Their bats are lethal, their record spotless

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on April 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Teagan Calkins (left) and Haylee Armstrong combined for seven hits in a 21-3 win. (Jackie Saia photo)

It was beautifully brutal.

For an inning-and-a-half Saturday, it seemed like visiting East Jefferson might be able to hang with the undefeated Coupeville High School softball squad.

Then reality hit. Like a hammer.

As in the Wolves delivered a 20-batter, 15-run bottom of the second inning — highlighted by a majestic out-of-the-park grand slam from Teagan Calkins — and the Smash Sisters were on their way to a resounding 21-3 victory.

By the time the frame came to a close, thanks to CHS having a runner leave base early, East Jefferson’s players looked shell-shocked.

It’s been a familiar look for Wolf foes this season, as Aaron Lucero’s squad has launched to an 8-0 start in which it has outscored foes 128-15.

With the loss to graduation of heavy hitters like Mia Farris, Madison McMillan, and Taylor Brotemarkle, there was some concern about Coupeville’s hitting after a 20-3 season which included two wins at state.

The answer so far?

Don’t worry about it, these Wolves are crushing the ball, with some new names tossed into the mix, and danger for rival pitchers to be found in slots one through nine.

Or, in this case, Rival pitchers, as that is what East Jefferson named its teams after folding Chimacum and Port Townsend into a 2-for-1 program.

No one on either current roster was around when Coupeville and Chimacum waged a fierce softball war across several seasons in the Olympic League.

But still, Saturday’s win could be considered payback for that time when a blind Chimacum umpire stole a league title from the Wolves, then shared cupcakes with the “winning” team while still in uniform.

Is my middle name Allen or “Mr. Petty?” You decide.

Even if you didn’t see every Wolf hit Saturday as being delivered with a fist raised to the sky, saluting the memory of Katrina McGranahan and her teammates, the base knock bash was still impressive.

It started where all things start, with “The Red Dragon” carving up pitching.

Calkins, the lone senior on this year’s team, is making the turn for the finish line after crafting a truly impressive run as a prairie powerhouse in three sports, but she’s still got magic to make.

Saturday, she pounded out four extra-base hits and walked, only missing hitting for the cycle for one reason — she can’t stop at first to get a measly single.

Always on the move, always looking for that extra base, Calkins smacked a two-out laser to left in the bottom of the first, slicing around the bag at first and sprawling into second with a double to fire the first shot.

The second shot came mere moments later, as Chelsi Stevens, who has moved from a part-time player as a freshman to the team’s ball-crunching cleanup hitter as a sophomore, whacked an RBI single to left.

When East Jefferson escaped the frame trailing just 1-0, there was a hint of hope emitting from the visitor’s dugout.

But just a hint, as Wolf sophomore hurler Adeline Maynes was unrelenting, whiffing seven in three innings of work, including one especially nasty pitch to punch out a Rivals hitter who had fouled off the previous two balls.

One of the few times East Jefferson made contact against Coupeville’s ace, a batter popped up a bunt, only to see CHS third baseman Sydney Van Dyke come crashing in hard to snatch the ball out of the air.

And then nirvana arrived.

Or the bottom of the second inning, so to speak.

Emma Leavitt led off the frame by getting plunked by a wayward pitch and little did she know she would come to the plate three(!) times in the inning as Coupeville unleashed a fireworks display of hits off of its multi-colored bats.

The longest hit?

The grand salami served up by Calkins, which disappeared over the left field fence, the ball seemingly intent on catching a ride to the ferry with a passing car.

The hardest hit?

A Capri Anter-fired rocket which went straight back up the middle, slamming off the pitcher’s glove and nearly taking her arm along with the mitt.

The most colorful?

A two-run single to left from Haylee Armstrong, who was rockin’ an ice cream-colored hitting stick.

Coupeville didn’t get its first out in the inning until batter #10, and the only reason they’re not still playing the frame is the Wolves gave away outs to ease the bloodletting.

When you go from trailing 1-0 to trailing 16-0, followed by Maynes flinging high, hard cheese that you can’t hit, game over, man, game over.

Though not technically, as the 10-run mercy rule only kicks in after five innings, so back to work the Wolves went.

Stevens and Anter delivered back-to-back RBI hits in the bottom of the third, Allie Powers eked out a bases-loaded walk, then Cami Van Dyke pasted a two-run single to make it 21-0 and bring Coupeville’s scoring to an end.

Armstrong moved into the pitcher’s circle for the final two innings, combining with Maynes to toss a no-hitter.

Zipping fastballs that rattled the windows on the homes in the nearby trailer park, she set down three batters on strikes, while the Wolf defense closed things with a pair of stellar plays.

On the first, Calkins tracked down a towering foul pop-up behind the plate, while on the second Coupeville nabbed a Rival during a run-down where the ball got whipped from Calkins to Stevens to Cami Van Dyke and back.

 

Saturday stats:

Zariyah Allen — One walk
Capri Anter — Two singles, one double, one walk
Haylee Armstrong — Two singles, one double
Teagan Calkins — Two doubles, one triple, one home run, one walk
Emma Leavitt — Two walks
Ava Lucero — One single, one walk
Olivia Martin — One walk
Adeline Maynes — Two walks
Allie Powers — One walk
Chelsi Stevens — One single, three doubles
Cami Van Dyke — One double, three walks
Sydney Van Dyke — Two walks

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Wolves keep hit machine in overdrive

Posted in Softball, tagged , , , , on March 25, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Chelsi Stevens rocks the chain and glasses after destroying Friday Harbor pitching. (Photo courtesy Kristi Stevens)

Every day, a different level.

That’s been the tale for the Coupeville High School softball squad, which has faced teams from 3A, 2A, 1A, and 2B, and beaten them all.

Wednesday afternoon the Wolves ignored a chilly prairie breeze, bashing the ball and getting high, hard heat from pitcher Adeline Maynes as they strolled to a 17-3 victory over visiting Friday Harbor in a game mercy-ruled after five innings.

The victory, coming in the conference opener, lifts CHS to 1-0 in Northwest 2B/1B League play, 4-0 overall, with a rematch set for Thursday on Friday Harbor.

Wednesday’s tilt started as a pitcher’s duel, at least for the first three frames.

Then the tsunami hit.

Both Friday Harbor and Coupeville opened their halves of the first inning by getting their leadoff hitter aboard thanks to a base-knock.

Then both pitchers retired the next three batters, keeping things scoreless and (briefly) sort of tense.

Add a 1-2-3 top of the second from Maynes, who whiffed the side as part of an 11-strikeout performance, and runs were at a premium.

Then the dam broke.

Capri Anter and Emma Cushman walked in the bottom of the second, before 8th grader Cami Van Dyke smacked a hard-hit ball into the hole with two outs.

Streaking down the line, the Wolf young gun not only beat the throw, but rattled Friday Harbor’s defender enough that she zinged the ball under her first-baseman’s glove, allowing a second runner to scoot across home plate on the play.

Adeline Maynes (left) and Haylee Armstrong combined for four hits Wednesday afternoon. (Michelle Armstrong photo)

Given new life, Coupeville pounced, with Haylee Armstrong lashing an RBI triple to deep left field, skidding into the bag with a huge smile on her face as she pointed at her dad.

From there, the Wolves turned it into an eight-run explosion, with Sydney Van Dyke and Teagan Calkins walking, Chelsi Stevens mashing a three-run triple to center, and Anter and Ava Lucero smoking RBI singles back up the middle.

Anter’s hit was an especially explosive one, almost inflicting grievous bodily harm on the Friday Harbor pitcher as it came within an inch or two of putting a dent in the hurler’s face mask.

With the lead in hand, the Wolves continued to pour it on, plating three in the third and another six in the fourth.

The first of those two rallies featured a three-run inside-the-park home run from Calkins, as “The Red Dragon” played bash-the-ball-and-run-like-a-gazelle, and the senior catcher wasn’t done.

She came back around an inning later to launch a three-run triple to center, Calkin’s second blow part of a highlight reel package including Sydney Van Dyke ripping an RBI liner off a defender’s glove and Stevens and Anter bopping RBI lasers to left.

The only thing stopping the hit parade was CHS coach Aaron Lucero taking the foot off the gas pedal in the fourth, twice having runners leave early to give Friday Harbor outs.

 

Wednesday stats:

Capri Anter — Two singles, two walks
Haylee Armstrong — One single, one triple, one walk
Teagan Calkins — One single, one triple, one home run, one walk
Emma Cushman — Two walks
Ava Lucero — One single, one walk
Adeline Maynes — Two singles
Chelsi Stevens — One double, one triple
Cami Van Dyke — Two singles
Sydney Van Dyke — Two singles, two walks

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