Islanders take two from Totems | Prep baseball
Published 7:47 am Monday, March 30, 2015
Before stepping to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning tied 1-1 with Sammamish and with runners in scoring position, Harrison Goonewardene hadn’t been feeling too well about his performance up to that point. The game was on the line, and the Mercer Island junior was still searching for his first hit.
“I rolled over three times before that and just wasn’t really seeing the ball well,” Goonewardene said. “After that last rollover, I was talking with [Assistant] Coach Andre [Marshall] and he was like, ‘ you’re going to come up in a spot where we need you and you’re going to get it done.’
“He called it. I just cleared my head on that last one and let the bat do its job.”
Hitting a chopper past second base and into the outfield, Goonewardene knocked in the winning run with a walk-off single to lift the Islanders in extra innings past the Totems 2-1 Friday at Island Crest Park. Mercer Island improved to 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in KingCo league play after taking both games of their two-game stand with Sammamish.
Both were single-run victories, with the Islanders needing an extra inning Friday to stay undefeated.
“You don’t want to be in those tough spots, but I’m ecstatic with the way our guys competed,” coach Dominic Woody said. “Individually, I’m seeing a lot of good things from guys, as far as the way they’re going about their business and kind of defaulting to the plan as opposed to the pressure and how they feel in the moment.”
Starting pitcher Alfonso Gonzalez allowed one run off three hits and struck out six in his seven innings of work. His lone run came in the game’s opening inning, and Gonzalez didn’t allow a hit in his final five innings.
“I just had to get in my rhythm and once that happened, I found the curveball. I think that was pretty key tonight, just making sure I could throw the curveball for strikes,” Gonzalez said. “I usually try to sit fastball but if I can locate the curveball, it’s a good day because hitters won’t know what’s coming.”
The Totems’ freshman starter Anthony Styer was equally impressive, allowing no runs and two hits through four innings. But after Sammamish (0-6) changed pitchers in the fifth, the Totems saw Josh Stenberg lead off the inning with a solo shot over the right field wall to tie the game 1-1. Mercer Island managed to load the bases later in the inning with two outs, but saw the inning end on a groundout.
Neither team was able to advance a runner into scoring position until the bottom of the eighth, when Mercer Island’s Michael Petrie singled to center field and Brandon Lawler drew a walk, bringing Goonewardene to the plate for the game-winning hit.
“I wasn’t looking for anything,” Goonewardene said. “All my other ones, I was looking for something. I just said, ‘I’m clearing my head.’ I went up there with a smile and said ‘I’m gonna do it.’”
Next, Mercer Island will take on Interlake at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 30 at Island Crest Park.
