Rain, rain, go away. And don’t come back. The Mercer Island High School baseball team has had more games postponed so far this season than it has played. Despite the setbacks and delays, the Islanders finished last week with a 3-3 record in KingCo and a confidence-building sweep against Interlake to start the season.
“We are looking at the rest of the league, and it is wide open,” said Mercer Island coach Brian Potoshnik.
The Islanders began the regular season with back-to-back losses to Mount Si, 9-4 and 9-3.
“We dug ourselves a hole losing to Mount Si twice, but there is still a lot of time,” said Potoshnik.
The Islanders came back and took their frustration out on the Saints with a 15-5 thrashing on March 24. The second game took place at Bannerwood under threatening skies on March 30. But nothing would stop the Islanders from getting back to .500.
The first inning was all Mercer Island, as back-to-back doubles and a walk loaded the bases for senior David Courtney. The first baseman drove a 2-and-0 pitch back up the middle, scoring all three runners as Mercer Island took an early 3-0 lead. Mercer Island starting pitcher Cameron Wilson matched Courtney’s impressive start by striking out the side during the bottom of the first on just 12 pitches. Mercer Island would maintain the three-run lead into the top of the fourth, when the Islander bats came alive.
Under a steady rain, Mercer Island put the first two batters on base, thanks to Interlake fielding errors. A double by Will Clausen scored the two Islander base runners. A walk and a sacrifice fly gave Mercer Island its sixth run of the game. Then Interlake fell apart, walking back-to-back hitters and committing three consecutive errors in the field. Mercer Island would also get two RBI doubles and an RBI single during the inning. Overall, Mercer Island sent 17 batters to the plate and would score 13 runs on just six hits.
“We are just trying to put it in play and hit it hard,” said Potoshnik. “That is what can happen.”
Wilson would leave the game during the next inning after racking up seven strikeouts in three innings.
“My fastball was alive,” said Wilson. “It was a cold night, so I felt like I could throw inside. But I made my pitches when I had to.”
Interlake finally got on the board during the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring two runs, but the 10-run mercy rule ended the wet contest at the end of the inning.
“We didn’t play defense or hit the ball well against Mount Si,” said Wilson. “We have to come with intensity from the start of the game all the way through the seventh.”
That intensity was there on offense for Mercer Island against Sammamish on Wednesday, but the defense struggled. The Islanders managed to score three runs during the first two innings against the Totems, but a three-run first and a five-run second made the Island offense look anemic. But the Islanders continued to crawl back into the game, scoring a run in each of the next three innings. A three-run, bottom of the sixth inning put the game out of reach despite Mercer Island scoring two runs during the top of the seventh inning. Islander Tyler Holbrook led the Islander offense, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
The Islanders beat the Totems on Monday to even the season series with a 13-5 victory. The Islanders were led by Holbrook, who finished 3-for-3 with a home run and six RBIs.
Mercer Island hosted Juanita High School on Tuesday (after Reporter deadline) and will play at Juanita on Thursday. The Islanders will play a big game at Safeco Field on Saturday against Kennedy High School at 12:30 p.m.
