South Whidbey’s softball team swept Coupeville 13-11 and 9-2 on Friday in a doubleheader.
The Falcons (5-6 Cascade Conference, 6-6 overall) relied on plenty of hits and ample scoring to lower the Wolves to fifth place in the Cascade Conference. Through the two games, South Whidbey tallied 26 hits and allowed only 14.
“Between both games, offensively, we are super proud,” said Falcon head coach Ashley Lopez in an email. “We have been practicing hard on solid contact and ‘making the change’ from practice to practice. I felt each player learned something from their previous at bat and applied it to their next opportunity.”
In the first game, the Falcons grabbed an early lead with six runs in the first inning. South Whidbey came close to winning in a 10-run mercy rule victory. The Falcons added four runs in the second and three in the third inning for a 13-2 lead. Games can be won by the mercy rule after the fourth inning.
Coupeville rallied with seven runs in the fourth to cut South Whidbey’s lead to 13-9. The Wolves scrapped two more runs in the sixth and seventh innings to threaten at 13-11, but the Falcons flew away with the win thanks to the combined pitching of starter Mackenzie Hezel and reliever Alex Kubeska. Hezel, a sophomore, threw three innings with four strikeouts and two walks. Kubeska, a junior, relieved Hezel in the fourth inning and fanned four Wolves batters and walked four.
Falcon sophomore catcher Chantel Brown finished 2-for-5 at the plate with a double and a single. The bottom of the Falcons’ lineup led the way with eight RBI, including senior outfielder Zoey Maeser and sophomore shortstop Haley Viers, who both finished 2-for-4 with two singles and two RBI.
The second game was less eventful, with the Falcons taking an early 3-1 lead and holding the Wolves to just three hits. Coupeville scored one run in the first inning, but wouldn’t score again until the seventh.
Kubeska pitched a complete game with nine strikeouts against eight walks. She was supported by 13 hits from her fellow Falcons, including a 3-for-5 hitting performance by freshman catcher Anne Madsen. Brown, the Falcons’ leadoff batter, had another 2-for-5 game at the plate with a single and a triple.
