By Dan Arritt, Special to the Reporter

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — The Mercer Island Little League team may have fallen short of its quest to win the Northwest Region baseball tournament, but its treasure trove of accomplishments this summer will surely overflow for years to come.

Mercer Island won 12 consecutive games before it was eliminated Thursday night, Aug. 9, in the semifinals of the Northwest Region, played in the sizzling hot confines of Al Houghton Stadium before a nationally televised audience on ESPN.

Gresham National Little League of Oregon knocked off Mercer Island, 6-2, then went on to beat a team from Idaho to capture the regional championship and earn one of eight U.S. berths at the Little League World Series beginning this week in Williamsport, Pa.

“These kids just came out to play hard every single game, no matter how hot it was or who we were playing or what the circumstances were,” said Mercer Island manager Steve Poore. “I’m just really proud of them.”

Bidding to become the second team from Mercer Island to advance to Williamsport in the last four seasons, the boys showed their resiliency long before traveling to Southern California.

Last month, the group of 12 and 13-year-olds lost the opening game of the Washington state tournament to a team from Kent, 10-0, before clawing their way back to the title game by winning six elimination games in six days, including a 3-2 victory against Kent. Mercer Island then had to return a day later and sweep South Kitsap in a doubleheader to advance to San Bernardino. They won 6-5 and 11-1 to complete the amazing comeback.

“Our kids were just locked in, took one game at a time and never gave up, never got down, just super tough when it came to preparing for each game and getting ready to play,” Poore said. “The odds were against us, but we persevered.”

They arrived in San Bernardino and continued their winning ways, capturing all four pool-play games to earn the top seed for the semifinals.

“The reason why we were able to do that, in short, is because we have a really deep pitching staff,” Poore said. “We may not have the superstar, like some other teams, but we’ve got seven guys that can just come in on any given day and shut down the other team. That’s what allowed us to get on these runs and beat teams in pool play and make the run that we did in state.”

Those pitchers were Parker Simpson, who allowed just two earned runs in 9 1/3 innings at the Northwest Regional; Justin Ho, Nikhil Nayar, Robert Weaver, Jack Smith, Matt Boissoneault and Will Hamilton. Together, they combined for a 3.33 earned-run average in five regional games.

At the plate, Ho had the best batting average of any player at the regional, accounting for eight hits in 13 at-bats for a .615 average. Alex Shanks was right behind with a .600 average (6-for-14), the third highest mark at the regional.

“Just from a leadership standpoint, those guys at the plate just had a great approach and just did a solid job hitting the ball hard just about every time they came up,” Poore said. “That’s our lead-off batter and our No. 2 hitter, and it really set the tone for the rest of the team.”

The tone was also set three years earlier, when Mercer Island advanced to the Little League World Series. That accomplishment established a blueprint for success, one Poore hopes is repeated in the years to come.

“When that team went to Williamsport, it really opened our eyes to what was possible,” Poore said. “Then these kids really took it seriously and worked hard and made baseball a priority, and dedicated a lot of time and effort and energy, and that’s one of the reasons why we were so successful … I hope that our guys are able to provide that same blueprint for the guys in our program that are coming up, and same for the coaches as well.”