On a day when the wind was nasty and the pitchers’ pitches nastier, the Coupeville High School softball team tripped up visiting South Whidbey 4-1 in the season opener Saturday, March 12.
A cold wind ripped through the Coupeville diamond as South Whidbey’s McKenzee Collins and Coupeville’s Katrina McGranahan mowed down opposing batters.
Collins finished with 16 strikeouts and a two hitter; McGranahan fanned 12 and was supported by an error-free defense.
McGranahan suffered just one hiccup. With two outs in the top of the third inning, she walked the bases loaded and then plunked a Falcon to force in the game’s first run.
In the fourth, Coupeville countered when Mikayla Elfrank walked and moved around to score on several Falcon miscues.
The Wolves later took the lead in the inning when McGranahan stole home.
In the sixth, Elfrank reached first when the South Whidbey catcher couldn’t hold on to strike three and then scored on a series of stolen bases and passed balls.
Several batters later, freshman Sarah Wright smashed a triple down the right field line that scored McGranahan with the game’s final run.
Wright also singled in the fourth, collecting the Wolves’s only hits in her varsity debut.
New Coupeville coach Kevin McGranahan also had a good debut, picking up a victory in his first game.
“We had some bright spots today, good pitching and catching and excellent base running,” he said. “We have some work to do with the bats — not a great showing at the plate — but we took advantage of their mistakes and ran wild.”
The Wolves stole 13 bases.
Coach McGranahan said Collins “was on her game all day and made us earn everything we got” and she will be “one of the best pitchers we see all year.”
Overall, it was “a very good game,” McGranahan said.
“It is good to know that this team will not quit when facing adversity,” he added. “They just keep on playing and find a way to win.”
Coupeville’s second game, which was originally slated to be in Sultan, was moved to Coupeville and will be played at 4 p.m. Monday, March 14.
