“Wolves win big, lose big on home field”

Young baseball team having ups and downs early in its new season

“For Coupeville’s Wolves, it’s been an up and down season on the baseball field so far this year.Already.After an 11-1 thumping of Darrington on Friday, the 1-3 Wolves slumped in a 15-3 loss to Forks at home Monday afternoon.The Forks loss was nothing to dwell on, Coupeville coach Willie Smith said. Forks is a bigger, 2A division school with a perennially strong baseball program.But mental errors helped the Wolves beat themselves. The game started with a 5-run first inning for Forks, all unearned. The Wolves rallied briefly with a 2-run fourth, but Matt Schmitz’ towering 3-run shot over the 312 marker in right field sealed the win for Forks in their own half of the inning.It was a different story on Friday. At home against Darrington, the Wolves blew open a tight 2-1 game with an 8-run fifth inning, led by Brian Gonzales’ base-clearing triple.The difference between the two games boiled down to a single key, Smith said – concentration.It’s a very mental game,” Smith said. Sometimes I don’t think we’re very mentally strong. That’s a big part of their development.”After a late Tuesday game at Friday Harbor, Coupeville will take on Sultan at home Friday at 3:30.”