Islanders baseball wins first KingCo title since 1998

The similarities to this year’s Mercer Island High School baseball team and the team from 1998 are striking. Then, first-year head coach Jeremy Briggs helped the team to the KingCo title, the program’s first, finishing 15-3 in league and 16-4 overall. This season, first-year head coach Cory Smith pushed the Islanders to a 14-4 league record and 15-4 overall.

By Megan Managan • May 11, 2010 2:04 pm
Mercer Island catcher Ben Emanuels tries to get to the ball as a Liberty player crosses home plate to score in the top of the seventh inning. The Islanders won the game 7-6 in extra innings for a piece of the KingCo title
Mercer Island catcher Ben Emanuels tries to get to the ball as a Liberty player crosses home plate to score in the top of the seventh inning. The Islanders won the game 7-6 in extra innings for a piece of the KingCo title

The similarities to this year’s Mercer Island High School baseball team and the team from 1998 are striking. Then, first-year head coach Jeremy Briggs helped the team to the KingCo title, the program’s first, finishing 15-3 in league and 16-4 overall. This season, first-year head coach Cory Smith pushed the Islanders to a 14-4 league record and 15-4 overall.

But this time around, the team is sharing the KingCo title with Liberty and Mount Si after the Islanders finished the regular season with a comeback win over Liberty last Thursday. The Islanders beat the Patriots 7-6 in extra innings at Island Crest Park to earn their portion of the title. Mercer Island went on the next day to beat Liberty again before losing to Mount Si to earn the No. 2 seed going into the KingCo tournament.

“Last night [against Liberty] was a great example of this team maturing from a bunch of guys with a lot of talent, to a bunch of guys with talent and mental toughness,” said head coach Cory Smith. “There were several situations in that game that would’ve caused a lesser group to give up, and that is something we have struggled with in previous years. We talk about competing on every pitch, every play, every inning, and the guys have really taken that to heart this year. We have some great leaders who have inspired others with their work ethic, commitment and positive attitudes. There is a lot of confidence in our dugout right now. Win or lose, all we ask is that guys compete until the last out. When we’ve been able to do that, we can be tough to beat.”

Because of the three-way tie, a tie-breaker double header was held at Island Crest Park on Friday afternoon to determine seeding for the KingCo tournament this week.

Last Thursday the game which ended so dramatically got off to a slow start, with the first two innings going scoreless before Liberty cracked in two runs in the top of the third. The Islanders stayed patient and got their chance to take the lead during the fourth inning, when they surged ahead with five runs against the Patriots. An additional run in the sixth gave the Islanders a 6-2 lead, but Liberty wasn’t finished. Four more runs for Liberty in the seventh tied the game and forced an extra inning after Liberty held Mercer Island scoreless in the bottom of the seventh.

Forcing extra innings, Mercer Island’s Mike Photoshnik held the Patriots off until the Islanders could get their turn back at bat in the eighth inning. With Cameron Ogard on second base after his hit earlier in the inning got lost in the sky by Liberty, David Oppenheim hit a double to right center field, shooting straight past the Liberty players to bring Ogard home for the win.

Smith said the usual suspects stood out for the Islanders on Thursday night against the Patriots. He mentioned senior Willy Reel and his co-captain, Jordan Richartz, for their base and scoring runs.

“On the mound, George Jiranek was very tough and pitched well enough to win. Max Dammeier came in the sixth with no outs and bases loaded, and struck out two batters and got a pop up to 1st base with no runs allowed, which preserved a 6-2 lead. Mike Potoshnik was not as sharp as usual and because of a couple of walks and errors, Liberty battled and tied the game at 6. Mike was able to minimize the damage and not give up more than 4 with a K and double play with the bases loaded. He also worked his way out of another bases loaded jam in the 8th inning with another 4-6-3 double play,” said Smith. “David Oppenheim came up with a clutch hit to give us the victory in the bottom half.”

The game ended with Liberty earning 10 hits overall, and the Islanders had nine off of seven runs. Oppenheim ended the night 2 for 2 at bat, with a double, while Willy Reel was 2 for 4 and Jordan Richartz was 2 for 3. George Jiranek was credited with the win after pitching five innings, giving up six hits and two runs. Mike Photoshnik and Max Dammeier also pitched.

To earn the No. 2 seed going into the KingCo tournament the Islanders had to once again defeat Liberty, which they did Friday afternoon at Island Crest Park in a 10-1 win. The Islanders started with a 3-0 lead and the Patriots were never able to climb back. Kirby Ingram was 2 for 3 at bat, while David Oppenheim was 3 for 5 with 3 RBI, a double and a triple coming off his game winning hit the night before.

Later in the evening Mercer Island fell to Mount Si, giving the Wildcats the No. 1 seed in the 14-2 loss. Mount Si grabbed the lead early, scoring five runs in the first and seven in the second for a 12-1 lead over the Islanders.

As the No. 2 seed Mercer Island will face the winner of Tuesday night’s Liberty versus Sammamish game on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.