Islander baseball earns state berth with win over Garfield

With another impressive outing on the mound from starting pitcher Peter Lopes, the Mercer Island baseball team earned a trip to the 3A state tournament, beating Garfield 6-1 Saturday afternoon at Bannerwood Park.

By Reporter Staff • May 17, 2015 12:06 am

With another impressive outing on the mound from starting pitcher Peter Lopes, the Mercer Island baseball team earned a trip to the 3A state tournament, beating Garfield 6-1 Saturday afternoon at Bannerwood Park.

Lopes earned the complete-game win, allowing one run off two hits in seven innings of work. It was the Mercer Island pitcher’s second win of the week, with Lopes leading the Islanders (17-7) past Bellevue 4-1 Tuesday, May 12.

Garfield (15-11) struck first in the top of the fourth inning, with an RBI double from Eli Wilson giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage.

Mercer Island rallied back in the bottom of the fifth inning, taking a 2-1 lead on a two-run double by Michael Bantle, and extending their lead on an RBI single from George Pallis. In the sixth inning, Jack Smith added extra insurance with a two-run double. Then it was Pallis again, swinging for an RBI single to bring in Smith.

Bantle finished 3-4 at the plate with two RBI, while Pallis was 2-3 with two RBI as well.

Mercer Island will take on Southridge (17-5) at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 23 at Whitworth University in Spokane.