The Mercer Island Angels, a team of six first-graders and six second-graders, recently capped off an undefeated season with a victory in the Bellevue/Mercer Island Thunderbird Little League Tournament in the Dukes Division for 7- and 8-year-olds. The Angels defeated the Cardinals 14-5 in the championship game. Three of this year’s Angels were returning players from last year’s championship team.
Lexus one out short, takes second in tourney
The Lexus All-Stars worked their way to a two-run lead with two outs in the bottom of the last inning of the championship game after battling through the consolation bracket for three consecutive games. Unfortunately for the 11 Mercer Islanders who make up the Lexus team, an agonizing bloop single just over the infield scored two runners to tie the game. A steal and a line-drive single won it 8-7 for the Dragons, a “Select” team from Issaquah coached by former-Mariner Jay Buhner. The Lexus team took second in the Bellevue Mustang Tournament at International Field in Bellevue on Monday, June 13.
Lexus began the tournament with a no-hitter against Kia of Kirkland. Five pitchers combined for the win. After playing against Puma, the team took its journey through the consolation bracket, overcoming a 4-0 deficit to beat the Mercer Island Power 8-5. They roared back from behind to crush CJ Pride 12-2, and avenged the loss to Puma with a thrilling victory. They came back from an initial 3-0 Puma lead, surged ahead 8-3 and then held on for the 8-6 win. Lexus scored first against the Dragons and led the entire game, taking a 7-5 lead into the bottom of the last inning.
Matt Orehek led the way offensively for Lexus, hitting .667, with seven of his 10 hits going for extra bases (three doubles, three triples, one home run), along with four walks. Jamie Lungmus hit .611 with two triples and a double. Jordan Morris went 10-for-18, all singles, and scored 11 Runs. Nine of the 11 players hit over .350 and all 11 had on base percentages over .310.
Alex Emanuels led the pitching staff, throwing seven innings with a 1.71 earned run average and five strike outs; Connor O’Brien also pitched well, throwing six innings with a 2.00 ERA, six strikeouts and an opponent batting average of just .143. Orehek pitched four innings as the closer and did not give up an earned run while getting three strikeouts. Jordan Morris overmatched opponents, getting eight strikeouts in six innings and Brian Higgins threw three strong innings for the victory in the quarter finals.
Boys lacrosse awards
The Mercer Island High School boys lacrosse players earned many awards this season. Seniors Chris Taylor and Noah Symington were selected to the 2005 National High School Senior Showcase where they played in a Senior Showcase game in St. Louis on June 25 (results were not available at press time). There are a total of four players selected from Washington state. Taylor was also selected a midfield All American.
The team had many All-State selections en-route to winning its second consecutive state title.
Division I First Team All-State: Senior attackman David Sandman; Senior midfielder Chris Taylor; Senior defenseman Ben Wickizer; Senior goalie Noah Symington.
Division I Second Team All-State: Senior midfielder Ben York; Junior midfielder Kevin Mahony.
Division I Honorable Mention: Senior attackman Jacob Sonkin; Junior defenseman Adam Brazg; Junior defenseman Brant Howell, Junior defense J.T. Neely.
Mustangs take MIBGC baseball tournament
The Potashnick Real Estate Pirates won the 2005 Mercer Island Boys & Girls Club Baseball Tournament Championship in the 9- and 10-year-old Mustang player-pitch division. Strong pitching, tight defense and timely hitting were the keys to the Pirates’ success in the playoff semifinals (18-5) and finals (11-0) on Saturday, June 11, at the South Mercer playfields.
MI Power brings home another tourney title
The Mercer Island Power extended its baseball tournament winning streak to seven games with four consecutive victories, including the championship in the 9-and-under division of the Summer Kickoff Classic, held the weekend of June 18-19 in Lynden, Wash.
The team started the tournament with perhaps its best all-around game of the season, defeating the Gig Harbor Stingrays 11-0 in four innings on a perfect game no-hitter thrown by three MI Power pitchers (Christopher Lawler, Nate Schuler and Jacob Stenberg). Following the first victory, the team faced the tough pitching of the Seattle Senators. After playing to a stalemate on the scoreboard through five innings, the MI Power bats erupted in the top of the sixth inning to score eight runs en-route to an 8-3 victory.
On Sunday, the offense provided plenty of runs during the first game, as MI Power had 20 hits in four innings and rolled to a 23-7 victory over the Maple Valley Thunderbirds. Later that afternoon, in the championship game, pitching and defense were the key as Lawler and Schuler combined on a three-hit 4-0 shutout of the Silverdale Sluggers.
Leading hitters for the tournament were Brandon Lawler (6-for-7) and Joshua Stenberg (5-for-8). Other players batting over .500 for the tournament were Lawler and Daniel Marinello (both at .556). Arthur McCray recorded an .818 on base percentage for the tournament.
