It sounds corny, but every coach of every team since sporting competition began not long after cavemen stopped hitting rocks with clubs, I think the event was called the rock bash for distance, has told players “It’s more fun to win than it is to lose.”
Motivational signs get stuck up in locker rooms across the country and we had one in the locker room at the junior high school I attended that read, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
Which I thought was a little overboard, even in my younger days, because it sort of hinted at winning no matter what the cost.
At any rate, if you want to see a team that is having fun these days, check out the Coupeville High School baseball team.
Those guys, I’ll tell you what.
I watched the Wolf Pack play several times during the regular season and they appeared to be your typical high school team — unbeatable in one game and the next make a bunch of silly mistakes and come up on the short end of the score.
Then came the post season and what happens? Coach Willie Smith’s diamond crew peaks at the right time and Class 1A teams around the state are asking, “Who are these guys?”
Check out the facts — 50 hits in the last five games, a pitching staff that is throwing the ball well and momentum that is building every day.
At the district tournament, the Wolves pounded Nooksack Valley and then came back to knock off the state-ranked No. 1 Class 1A team from Friday Harbor.
The result, Coupeville is district champion.
Wednesday afternoon they went up against Vashon Island who had a left-handed pitcher with a wicked breaking ball and who could, in baseball terminology, “bring it.”
No problem. Trailing 2-0, the Wolves put up four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and then sent in their own guy, Alex Evans, who also can bring it, to the mound.
Evans struck out five of the six batters he faced, including three in the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded, to save the game.
Senior leadership, don’t you just love it!
Coupeville is now among the top 16 Class 1A teams in the state and the next stop is Saturday, May 17, in Castle Rock where two more wins will put the red, black and white in the state championship.
Who would have thought something like this would happen back in March when the season started? I’ll tell you who, coach Smith and the six seniors on the roster.
Want to see a bunch of smiling faces? Take a peek inside the Wolves dugout.
Way to go, you guys.
Breakin’ records and fences
Smash Sister Jessica Kallander has laid waste to several Oak Harbor High School softball season records this year.
The left-handed hitting senior centerfielder has set a new record of 29 hits in a season, breaking the old record of 27 with a home run in Tuesday’s game against Monroe.
Kallender has also stroked 11 doubles this season, breaking yet another record.
Finally, Kallander is finished the year with a .518 batting average and an .857 slugging percentage, eclipsing records three and four.
What a season!
Any college out there seeking a speedy centerfielder who bats left-handed and has the talent to hit in the leadoff spot in the order? If there is, they might want to check out a certain blond smasher from Oak Harbor.
