Islanders build off experience from last season
Staring down Bellevue with the bases loaded and one out in last year’s regular season finale, Mercer Island was a swing away from taking the 3A KingCo league title. It was a big moment for the Islanders’ younger players, who despite their inexperience, coach Dominic Woody turned to often throughout last season.
A line-out to second ended the Islanders’ season in disappointing fashion. But Mercer Island’s coach hopes that the big-game experience will prove invaluable as the Islanders take the field this year.
“To be inexperienced and to be heavily relied upon, I thought those guys did a great job,” Woody said. “We were one game, one swing away from winning a league championship. I only expect to see further improvement with those guys.”
Senior Brandon Lawler and juniors Harrison Goonewardene and Michael Petrie were among those younger players Woody relied upon last season. Now team captains, the three expect to make a run at the KingCo title with added pitching depth and versatility.
“I’d say we have the best [pitching] depth in the state,” Lawler said, noting returning starters Goonewardene and Will Mansfield. “We have six, seven, eight guys who could all be starters on most teams. That’s really rare to find, especially in KingCo.”
“A lot of guys can play multiple positions on the field, so utilizing those players is going to be key to us this year,” Petrie said.
The Islanders will have to clean up some bad habits in their push for a league title. Petrie said Mercer Island will need to get going earlier offensively instead of last season’s tendency to wait until later innings to score runs. Lawler said the team also must clean up defensively after averaging nearly three errors a game last season.
“We had a lot of errors or walks with two outs,” Lawler said. “Just finishing innings is big for us this year.”
But Woody expects a sense of familiarity from his players, something that may not have been there during a few crucial moments last season, will help the Islanders through those similar moments this year down the stretch.
“It’s not going to be the first rodeo for them and I think that’s going to be huge,” Woody said. “I expect at the end of the year when we get to the playoffs and we start to feel those same things we did before, we understand it’s just normal. We’re just going to go out there and do, hopefully, what we’ve been doing all year.”
Fastpitch captain Morgan Peyou aims to help the Islanders make their push to the state tournament (Joseph Livarchik/Staff Photo).
‘Our time’ for MI fastpitch
When asked about season goals, Mercer Island fastpitch coach Jessica Steinle is upfront with what she expects from her team this year.
“Mercer Island High School has never been to state for softball and we’re going to change that this year,” Steinle said. “This is our time. That’s our motto: ‘our time.’”
It may seem like a tall order, especially for a young Islander team with freshmen making up half its roster. But the Islanders have aimed high under Steinle and seen results in the past. Two seasons ago, Mercer Island earned its first district win in a decade. While just missing the district tournament last season, senior captain Morgan Peyou believes the Islanders boast more talent this year.
“We have a lot more people who have played before and have more experience,” Peyou said. “Everybody on this team has played softball before at least once and a lot play select and with travel ball teams. So there is a lot more experience, a lot more dedication, a lot more talent and solid mechanics.”
Similar to the baseball team, Mercer Island fastpitch saw its season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion last year, surrendering a walk-off home run to rival Bellevue in the KingCo tournament.
Steinle said having more players with experience has allowed her to coach more higher-level skills from the beginning of the season, which she hopes will lead to more consistent play this year. While not boasting a lot of power at the plate, Steinle said this year’s squad has a lot of speed, which they will use to their advantage.
“Like I told the girls, if we have to nickel and dime [opponents] and take an extra base whenever we can, then that’s what we’re going to do,” Steinle said. “I think we’re going to outhustle people, and that’s what we’re going to be known for.”
