Mercer Island fastpitch was staring down a big four-game week last week, which included a make-up KingCo contest against Liberty and a two-game series with league opponent Sammamish.
But after beginning with a convincing 10-4 nonconference victory over Hazen March 30, the Islanders were left still searching for their first KingCo win.
Mercer Island fell to Sammamish 16-4 Wednesday, April 1 at South Mercer Playfields. Mariah Smith went 4-4 at the plate to help lead the Totems to their first league win. Camryn Steiner went 2-3 for the Islanders with an RBI, while Morgan Peyou had two hits and Kayla Varney hit a triple with two runs batted in.
Leading 3-2 after the first inning, the Totems broke the game open with four runs in the second. Mercer Island struggled in the field, committing seven errors.
“I think today we were pretty mental. If a girl made an error or there was a miscue, they couldn’t get out of their head. They couldn’t flush it, and that’s part of the difference,” Steinle said. “That’s part of being a young team.”
The Islanders certainly are young, with 10 of Mercer Island’s 12 roster spots occupied by freshmen and sophomores. Peyou is the lone senior on the roster, and saw a bulk of the work at starting pitcher throughout the week, starting all four of Mercer Island’s games.
“Morgan has thrown 250 pitches in the last two days, so the more intense she gets and the more she wants to get at them, the more tendency she has to let things kind of creep up into the zone and when they do that, those big hitters take advantage,” Steinle said Wednesday.
The next day against Liberty proved just as tough. The Patriots scored eight runs in the opening inning en route to a 15-4 win April 2 at South Mercer Playfields. Peyou went 2-3 at the plate with an RBI, while Steiner was 1-3 and batted in a run and Phoebe Larson went 1-2 with an RBI.
The Islanders upped the effort in their second game against Sammamish April 3, but after taking a 2-1 lead after the first two innings, the Totems reeled off six unanswered runs to pull out a 7-2 win. Andi Hormel went 3-4 at the plate for Sammamish, while Peyou had three hits for the Islanders.
Down players Thursday and Friday because of the upcoming spring break, Steinle knew it would be a rough go for her team. But the Mercer Island coach expected to see a more aggressive effort going forward.
“We know that we have to be tougher in general,” Steinle said. “Just more fundamentally sound and more aware of what’s going on in each play.”
The Islanders will be back in action when they take on Lake Washington at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 13 at South Mercer Playfields.
Morgan Peyou delivers a pitch against Sammamish Wednesday, April 1 at South Mercer Playfields (Joseph Livarchik/Mercer Island Reporter).
