Kangs pounce early in win over Islanders | Prep baseball
Published 11:39 pm Saturday, May 9, 2015
Late season woes for the Mercer Island baseball team continued into the first round of the 3A KingCo tournament Saturday at Bannerwood Park. With a four-run third inning, Lake Washington put the Islanders in an early hole they couldn’t overcome, beating Mercer Island 8-4 to advance to the tournament final.
The loss was Mercer Island’s fourth straight in a stretch that has seen the Islanders (14-7) go from the top of the KingCo league standings to being on the brink of postseason elimination.
“We’re just not swinging it like we were earlier in the year. We’re not really doing anything like we were earlier in the year,” Islander coach Dominic Woody said. “In all three phases of the game, we’re in a little bit of a slump. On top of that, you kind of need a little bit of baseball luck every once in awhile to go your way.”
Trailing Lake Washington 1-0 in the bottom of the third inning, the Islanders missed several opportunities to get outs, of which the Kangs (15-5) made sure to capitalize. Ryan Horita led off reaching base after outfielder Robert Teng just missed a sliding grab in right field, followed by Jake Wikel and Austin Lively each reaching base on consecutive bunt plays to load the bases. Kevin Nakahara hit a grounder to first, but Horita beat out the fielder’s choice throw to home plate to give the Kangs a 2-0 lead. With the bases loaded and no outs, Tom Scheffler swung for a two-run single, extending Lake Washington’s advantage to 4-0. A sacrifice fly from Jared Menssen brought home one more run before the inning’s end.
From the mound, Lake Washington starting pitcher Ryan Horita held the Islanders scoreless through the first four innings while allowing only one hit during that stretch.
Mercer Island wasn’t without a rally of its own. In the top of the fifth, Josh Stenberg swung for a triple into right center and scored on a wild pitch by Horita to put Mercer Island on the board. After Lake Washington extended its lead 8-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Islanders got a couple more runs in the top of the sixth with a two-run shot from Michael Petrie, but stranded runners on the corners with a ground out to end the inning. A single from Michael Bantle brought in one more run for the Islanders in the top of the seventh, but Mercer Island couldn’t advance runners on first and second, with a grounder ending the contest.
With another game against Juanita Monday, Woody said he hoped to see his team put more pressure on their opponents earlier in the game, an adjustment the Islanders will have to make quickly to keep their season alive.
“We got to come out in the first [inning] like we did in the third and fourth [innings],” Woody said. “You got to figure out a way to have that intensity and concentration in our at-bats to make sure we’re on top of the ball and keep from popping out. It’s too many easy outs. You can’t be giving people extra outs in the playoffs, it’s just not going to work out for you.”
Mercer Island will face Juanita (9-12) in a loser-out contest at 4 p.m. Monday, May 11 at Bannerwood Park. The winner will take on the loser of the KingCo tournament final between Bellevue (18-3) and Lake Washington.
Islanders receive All KingCo honors
Mercer Island had six players named to All KingCo 2015 first and second teams, with one sharing Player of the Year honors. Michael Petrie was named Co-Player of the Year with Bellevue’s Connor Todd. Peter Lopes, Noah Hsue and Petrie garnered first-team honors, while Michael Bantle, Brandon Lawler and Anthony Scalzo were named to the second team. Alfonso Gonzalez, Harrison Goonewardene, Alex Shanks and Jack Smith all earned All KingCo honorable mention.
