There wasn’t much that didn’t go right for the Coupeville fastpitch team Thursday afternoon.
Hitting, pitching and defense all played key factors in the Wolves’ 9-3 victory over Darrington.
“That was big for us,†CHS head coach Jim Wheat said of the win. “We play them again on Tuesday, now we’re at .500 — that really changes the mental set for the girls.â€
Coupeville wasted no time pouncing on Darrington.
A bunt base hit by Jessica Graham to lead off the first inning, opened up the gates to a four-run inning for the Wolves.
With the bases loaded and one out number five hitter, Kayla Smith hit a shot to the right side of the infield just over the second baseman’s glove. Two runs scored on the play.
With two outs, number seven hitter, Elena Caldwell, singled to right once again, driving in two more runs.
Wheat was elated with the production from the bottom half of his lineup, which was 3-for-8, with six RBI and two walks.
“I like that,†he said. “I was real happy.â€
CHS kept the pressure on Darrington in the second inning, scoring four more runs after two modest outs started the inning.
Laura Crandall began the two-out rally off with a single to right. Hayley Ebersole beat out an infield hit and Stacy Farmer followed with an RBI single up the middle. An RBI bases-loaded walk from Annie Larson and a two-RBI bloop single from Jessica Hester gave the Wolves an 8-0 lead.
Coupeville held Darrington scoreless until the sixth inning behind great defense and pitching.
Starter Heather Davis showed great poise in the pitchers’ circle — particularly in the fourth inning. After walking a batter, throwing late to second on a ball hit back to her and hitting a batter, Davis put herself in a difficult situation.
She responded emphatically.
Davis followed with two consecutive strikeouts on six pitches. She forced a groundball out on the third batter and got out of the inning unscathed.
“Beautiful, that was just beautiful,†Wheat said. “The pitch sequence and everything was just perfect for what we needed.â€
Darrington finally got on the scoreboard late in the game, tacking on three unearned runs over the final two innings.
Darrington 000 001 2 – 3 4 1
Coupeville 440 001 x – 9 9 2
King and Thompson. Davis and Larson. WP-Davis. LP-King.
Concrete 2, Coupeville 0
The Wolves struggled in their first league game of the season, losing 2-0 at Concrete on Tuesday afternoon.
Coupeville didn’t get a hit until Laura Crandall nailed a single off Britt Howell with one out in the top of the seventh inning. Unfortunately for the Wolves, who struck out 18 times, it was the only hit they got.
Concrete only got four hits off Davis, but took advantage of five CHS errors to score its runs.
The Wolves are now 1-1 in the Northwest A/B and 2-2 overall. They play their next game Tuesday, April 19 at Darrington.
Coupeville 000 000 0 – 0 1 5
Concrete 100 100 x – 2 4 0
Davis and Larson. Howell and Swanson. WP-Howell. LP-Davis.