In their season’s first matchup with cross-lake rival Bellevue, the sun was shining and Mercer Island needed seven innings to get its offense going, as Bellevue’s starting pitcher nearly earned a complete-game win.

But things couldn’t have gone anymore differently the second time around.

Under gray skies and rain, Mercer Island hammered Bellevue 17-5 in five innings Friday at Bellevue High School, splitting their two-game stand with the Wolverines and climbing back into a first-place tie in the 3A/2A KingCo standings.

Coming off a 3-2 loss to the Wolverines two days prior in which the Islanders didn’t score until the final inning, Mercer Island coach Dominic Woody said he was looking for his team to be more aggressive early on.

“I just didn’t feel like when we came out here the other day, it was representative of our best effort,” Woody said. “We just wanted to make sure that we refocused and were ready to rock ‘n roll from the get-go today.”

The Islanders (10-2, 8-2) opened with two runs in the top of the first inning and led 3-1 in the second. Bellevue (9-2, 8-2) nearly made it 3-2, but after Isaac Lee shot a double into the left-center gap, Mercer Island’s Brandon Lawler gunned down Bellevue’s Connor Todd at the plate with a throw from the outfield to minimize the damage.

Mercer Island loaded the bases in the third, and with two outs, George Pallis swung for a bases-clearing double to kick off a five-run inning for the Islanders.

“[There were] two strikes and I was looking to go the other way to slow things down at the plate,” Pallis said. “He threw a fastball right down the middle… I saw it pretty deep and shot it into right center.”

The Islanders never let up the rest of the way, loading the bases again in the fourth, but ending the inning with a double-play grounder to third. In the top half of the fifth, they went off for nine more runs.

Mercer Island faced four Bellevue pitchers through five innings, with none completing two innings of work.

“You just don’t have that much pitching depth in high school to be afforded the luxury to put your next best arm in there to try and keep it close,” Woody said. “Once you can chase that starter at this level and get in the bullpen, usually it’s going to be a favorable advantage for you.”

Pallis finished 1-3 at the plate with three RBIs while drawing a walk and scoring two runs. Michael Bantle, Michael Petrie and Anthony Scalzo each had two hits and two RBIs for the Islanders. Alfonso Gonzalez earned the win in four innings of work, allowing two earned runs off seven hits while striking out four.

Next, Mercer Island will take on Juanita at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15 at Lee Johnson Field in Kirkland.

Mercer Island’s Brandon Lawler takes his lead at first base during the fourth inning of the Islanders’ game against Bellevue Friday, April 10 at Bellevue High School (Joseph Livarchik/Mercer Island Reporter).