Add another first to the list of achievements for the Mercer Island baseball team.

A season after winning the program’s first state baseball crown, Mercer Island secured a return trip to the 3A state tournament, beating Roosevelt 3-1 in their district crossover matchup Saturday at Steve Cox Memorial Park. The Islanders (20-4) advanced to next weekend’s regional round and will compete at Rister Stadium in Kelso.

The back-to-back state appearances are a first in program history for the Islanders.

“I just told the guys to continue to break ground and make it possible for us to do things that never have been done historically,” Mercer Island coach Dominic Woody said. “Fortunately for us, that happens to line up with exactly where we want to go, and that’s Kelso next weekend.”

The reigning champs showed the poise of a team that had been there before in Saturday’s winner-to-state matchup. Mercer Island wasted little time to take control, with Josh Stenberg crushing a solo shot over the right field wall to put the Islanders ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning.

Roosevelt (19-6) put runners in scoring position in the second and third innings, though the Rough Riders were unable to capitalize against Mercer Island starter Peter Lopes, with both opportunities coming in two-out situations.

Roosevelt had a golden opportunity in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with one out. But Lopes got batter Jackson Simone to hit a soft liner to shortstop Jack Smith, resulting in a double-play to end the inning.

Lopes called Smith’s play on the ball “absolutely huge.”

“I wasn’t pressing, but I knew it was go time,” Lopes said. “After giving up the one [run], I was just trying to get weak contact and that was perfect. I couldn’t have been more excited about it.”

Mercer Island made Roosevelt pay in the bottom half of the inning, with Smith swinging for a leadoff double and Noah Hsue reaching base off of a bunt. Michael Petrie brought Smith home with a single to right field to take back the lead, and Harrison Goonewardene added insurance with a sacrifice grounder to put Mercer Island ahead 3-1.

“Our team works very well when we’re in tight ballgames,” Petrie said. “If anything, losing that lead right there just called us to answer. We got more energy, the dugout brought it and we responded very quickly.”

From there, Lopes and reliever Goonewardene combined to allow one hit, one walk and no Roosevelt runners to advance into scoring position. Lopes earned the win, allowing one unearned run off seven hits while striking out six in 6 1/3 innings, while Goonewardene picked up the save. At the plate, Smith and Greg Fuchs each went 2-for-3.

Special K for Goonewardene

Taking over on the mound in a relief appearance on Saturday, Goonewardene got to do something he was dying to do last season: help his team out in a critical situation on the field.

Goonewardene, a two-year team captain for Mercer Island, saw his junior season cut short due to a back injury. This year, he’s making up for lost time. Goonewardene went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice RBI and earned Mercer Island’s final out against Roosevelt with a game-ending strikeout.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” he said. “All these guys have been here before and I was here before, too, but it’s something different when you’re on the bench, when you’re not playing. You know you can’t get in the game. I didn’t have an opportunity last year, so it’s awesome to be back out here and have the chances to do what I can to help the club win.”