The Mercer Island softball team bounced back from a loss to Juanita with a 16-12 win over the Sammamish Totems Friday at Sammamish High School.

The Totems (3-4, 2-4 in KingCo) led the Islanders 9-7 heading into the final inning when the Islanders (3-4, 3-3) exploded for nine runs to take a commanding lead.

Camryn Steiner and Jessica Ramseyer each registered three hits in the effort, while Ramseyer, Kayla Varney and Olivia Kane each batted in three runs.

Two days earlier, the Mercer Island bats weren’t quite as successful against the reigning 3A state champion Juanita Rebels. Freshman pitcher Eden Radke held Mercer Island to four scoreless innings as the Rebels beat the Islanders 13-5 Wednesday at South Mercer Playfields. Both teams were tied with Bellevue for second place in league standings heading into the contest.

“We play each team three times. This is our first one out of three, so we still got another opportunity with these guys,” Mercer Island coach Dale Watanabe said.

Juanita was out in front early, claiming a 5-0 lead midway through the second inning. The Islanders responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the second inning. Phoebe Larson and Kayla Varney each batted in runners to make it a 5-3 contest. But the Rebels came back the next inning, drawing six walks and scoring four more to pull away.

Watanabe said being a little overanxious at the plate may have kept his team from providing more run support against Juanita.

“Normally we’re a better hitting team, we were just not waiting for the ball enough and really making good contact with it,” Watanabe said. “This is a good test for us, but I think we played with them. We just need to eliminate some of the walks. I think from a fielding perspective, we’re a good fielding team, we’re a good hitting team, we just didn’t show it today.”