Call it the one that almost got away.

In a wild 13-inning contest that saw a winning run called off, Josh Stenberg lifted Mercer Island over Shorewood 1-0 with a walk-off solo home run to earn the Islanders their first-ever 3A state baseball championship Saturday, May 30 at the University of Washington’s Husky Ballpark.

Stenberg’s homer marked the second time the Islanders celebrated winning the state title Saturday afternoon.

“Talk about having something snatched away from you, thinking you’ve got it,” Islander coach Dominic Woody said, dripping wet from a fresh ice-water bath. “I can’t tell you how excited and how proud I am of our guys right now. Everything we talked about, everything we preached, just came to fruition right there with one swing of the bat.

“Hey, it’s not often you get to win the state championship twice in one day,” he chuckled. “We’ll take it.”

Woody was referring to a controversial call that took place five innings prior. With the scoreless game going into extra innings, Mercer Island loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with two outs. Shorewood starter Cole McKisson then walked Islander DH Anthony Scalzo, theoretically bringing in the winning run, prompting a celebratory melee from the Islanders on the field. Shortly after Scalzo touched first base, a Thunderbird player caught the attention of the first-base umpire, a discussion was held, and the winning run was waved off by the officials.

The ruling was the runner from second base, Brandon Lawler, never reached third, signaling an out. The game was stopped for about 20 minutes while umpires conferred with an outside official about the interpretation of the rules.

“What they were saying was that if the bases are loaded and you get a game-winning walk, that everyone has to touch the next bag that they’re on,” Woody relayed. “The rule that we saw, rule 409, said that basically just the hitter and the runner from third had to touch the next base. [The officials] said that Brandon never touched third, they called it an out, big deal. I tried to make sure the guys were ready to go out there and throw zeros again. It wasn’t a ‘W’ until they told us.”

“I did not know that was a rule,” Lawler said. “I went from second base straight in and started  celebrating. Obviously, I was down on myself. I was extraordinarily disappointed, but [the atmosphere] was about keeping me up and staying focused.

“That could’ve been the worst thing that could’ve possibly happened for us, feeling that championship taken away.”

Somehow, the Islanders kept their poise. In his second relief appearance in two days, Will Mansfield retired the first three batters he faced the next inning after the controversial call.

Mansfield allowed one hit in five and ⅔ innings while striking out two, two days after competing in the 3A state boys golf tournament and tying for 14th place.

Alfonso Gonzalez, starting from the mound for Mercer Island, was equally impressive, allowing only one hit in just over seven innings pitched, striking out six while also walking six. So was Shorewood’s McKisson, allowing five hits and no runs while walking four in nine innings of work.

Mercer Island had an opportunity with runners in scoring position in the bottom of the tenth, but couldn’t bring anyone home. Both teams went cold at the plate the next two innings, with Shorewood’s Will Smith allowing no Islanders to reach base until the bottom of the 13th inning, when Stenberg blasted an 0-1 fastball over the right field wall.

“It just shows how mentally tough our team is,” Stenberg said of the adversity. “We’ve gone through a lot this year, and that’s just the best. Winning the state title is exactly what we wanted.”

Stenberg and Michael Petrie each had two hits for Mercer Island. Arthur Pate and Ian Oxnevad registered both hits for Shorewood.

Lawler initially didn’t see Stenberg’s game-winning shot, having flied out at the plate right before him in the order. But when he looked up and saw the ball sailing over the right field wall, he flew from the dugout and right back onto the field.

“That was the clutchest hit I’ve seen in my whole life,” Lawler said. “I’ve been playing with Josh since I was three, four years old. We’ve been best buddies for awhile. That was the biggest hit I ever saw on any of my teams my whole entire life.

“Best day of my life right now,” he said after letting out a long, relieved sigh. “This could’ve been the worst day of my life, but it’s the best.”