Nine months later, a 3A state championship win still lingers in the minds of Mercer Island’s players and coaches. Though some are more willing to acknowledge it than others.

“Honestly, I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t think of it almost daily,” said Mercer Island coach Dominic Woody. “I’m a baseball guy, so I’m always going to have baseball on my brain in some capacity. It kind of hits you in unsuspecting ways at times. I tell everybody now it’s what I think about if I have to go to my happy spot … it’s amazing how long you can actually be buzzing after something like that.”

Winning any championship is a memorable event, let alone the way Mercer Island did it. It was the first in program history, one that was sealed with a walk-off home run from Josh Stenberg in extra innings, and following controversy that garnered national attention. Such a feat is unforgettable, yet many of the Islander players are doing their best to rub it from their minds as they begin their 2016 campaign.

“Once the offseason was over, it was going on to the next season,” senior Michael Petrie said. “We don’t really talk about it anymore because we’re just worried about this year. That’s our main focus.”

“After winning last year, it doesn’t change anything for us from the inside out. It shouldn’t really change how we go about our business,” Woody said. “We should just be using it for anecdotal evidence for ‘this is what it takes’ and ‘this is how thin the margin is.'”

The Islanders return six of their nine position players from last year, including Petrie and Stenberg, as well as starting pitchers Harrison Goonewardene and Peter Lopes. Goonewardene, a captain for the second year in a row, saw his previous season end prematurely due to injury.

“I think we’ll be good all around the ball but especially our pitching staff will be top-notch and ready to go,” Goonewardene said.

“We have quite a few guys who didn’t get an opportunity or had their opportunity cut short last year who should really plug into the equation quite a bit this year,” Woody said.

Where “winning it twice” was a rallying cry at last season’s end, now it appears to be replaced with the focus being “on to the next.”

“Last year, we were just worried about each game week to week. We weren’t looking down the road,” Petrie said. “I don’t think we’ll change that mentality from last year.”

Their coach believes the elements are there for his team to perform, and expectations among the team are as high as they’ve ever been.

“I’ve told the kids and it’s not a lie, each year it’s been a more talented class going forward,” Woody said, noting several of his players have already committed to play college baseball. “If you really want to look at it talent-wise, this is by far and away the most talented group we’ve had, but that’s not how this game works. Everybody’s got to do their job and take their turn at the helm.”