The Mercer Island baseball team beat Liberty on Tuesday, May 7 in the first round of the KingCo tournament. The final score was 8-3 for the Islanders.

Mercer Island advances to the KingCo semifinal round on Thursday, May 9.

Against the Patriots on Tuesday, Mercer Island had a 5-0 lead going into the third inning, thanks to three runs in the first and two in the second. The score remained the same until the top of the fifth inning, when Mercer Island added another run for a 6-0 lead. Two runs in the top of the sixth made it a 8-0 lead for the Islanders.

Liberty earned it’s first run of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, making it 8-1, and though the Patriots added two runs in the last inning of the game, they couldn’t overtake the large lead Mercer Island had built.

Mercer Island had eight runs off 11 hits and no errors, while Liberty had three runs off seven hits and two errors.

Nick Chandler was 2-3 in the game, scoring three runs with one RBI, while Steven Petrie was 2-3 with one run. Brian Higgins was 1-3 with one RBI, while Alex Himstead went 3-4 at bat, with one run and four RBIs in the game. Mack Schlamp was 1-3 with one run, Karsten Sherman was 1-3, with one RBI. Senior pitcher Isak Morris pitched for six innings, allowing four hits and one run, while striking out two.

Mercer Island will take on Mount Si, the No. 2 team in the league this season, on Thursday, May 9 in a 7 p.m. game at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue.

The winner will advance to the KingCo championship on Friday, May 10 to play against the winner of the Juanita vs. Bellevue game for a spot in the state tournament. If Mercer Island loses on Thursday, the team will play against the loser of the Juanita vs. Bellevue match on Saturday for a chance to earn a state berth.