Mercer Island dominates Redmond on the diamond

By Shaun Scott • April 27, 2017 4:27 pm
Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson Mercer Island player Greg Fuchs scores the first run of the game for the Islanders in the bottom of the first inning. Mercer Island cruised to a 11-1 win in just five innings against the Redmond Mustangs on April 26 at Courter Field at Bellevue College.
Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson Mercer Island player Greg Fuchs scores the first run of the game for the Islanders in the bottom of the first inning. Mercer Island cruised to a 11-1 win in just five innings against the Redmond Mustangs on April 26 at Courter Field at Bellevue College.

The Mercer Island Islanders baseball team didn’t let a defeat against the arch-rival Bellevue Wolverines keep them down for long.

Mercer Island, which lost a 6-5 heartbreaker to Bellevue on April 24, rebounded with a convincing 11-1 win in just five innings against the Redmond Mustangs on April 26 at Courter Field at Bellevue College. The Islanders improved their overall record to 13-2 with the win. Redmond dropped to 8-10 overall. Mercer Island head coach Dominic Woody was thrilled to see his team get back in the win column following the loss to Bellevue.

“Anytime you lose you want to get right back on that ‘W’ train. I love the way the boys came out today and put that [loss] behind them. That is what I expect out of them,” Woody said. “With there being two games left in [KingCo] league and us still vying for a league championship with Bellevue, it was imperative that we got the win. Obviously we are happy with that.”

Despite a downpour of rain and windy conditions, the Islanders bats were hot against the Mustangs. Mercer Island finished the game with 12 hits. Mercer Island starting pitcher Robert Weaver got the victory on the bump, going six full innings while allowing just three hits.

“We have a pretty deep lineup and I think today was indicative of that. You see guys in the seven, eight and nine holes [batting order] coming up and getting knocks [hits] and getting on base. We had everything going despite the weather. We’ll take it,” Woody said.

In the bottom of the first, Parker Simpson singled, scoring Greg Fuchs from second base giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Mercer Island scored four runs in the bottom of the second extending the lead to 5-0. Alex Shanks had 2 RBI while Jack Smith and Fuchs added an RBI in the inning. In the bottom of the third, Smith connected with 2 RBI increasing the Islanders lead to 7-0. The Islanders added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Boissoneault had 2 RBI while Justin Ho and Noah Hsue recorded an RBI apiece as well.

The regular season is nearly over and the postseason is on the immediate horizon for the Islanders baseball team. Woody said his squad is excited about the opportunity awaiting them during the month of May.

“The last couple of weeks it has been something we have discussed,” Woody said of playoff baseball. “I told the guys coming into this week [April 24] that the playoffs have started. I told the guys they can wait until next week if they want but for all intents and purposes the playoffs have started for us. I’m happy with the way we are playing right now,” Woody said.

Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson Mercer Island infielder Jack Smith, right, tags out a Redmond runner at second base. Mercer Island pounded out 12 hits in the win against Redmond on April 26.

Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson Mercer Island infielder Jack Smith, right, tags out a Redmond runner at second base. Mercer Island pounded out 12 hits in the win against Redmond on April 26.