Matt Phelps
Mercer Island Reporter

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Mercer Island High School’s last 3A KingCo baseball championship. And while this year’s team is not chock-full of Division I athletes and potential major leaguers, it is full of realistic hopes for the future.

“We are putting things into place and building a foundation,” said second-year coach Brian Potoshnick. “We have to try to change the culture of the past 10 years.”

But that culture is changing. A deep inexperienced pitching staff and balanced lineup will lead the way for the Islanders as they continue to improve on defense.

“We have a lot of depth on the mound but not a lot of experience,” said Potoshnik. “Our pitching will be key, and they have to get after it.”

The team’s No. 1 starter, senior Chris Black, was a part of only the second team since 1998 to go to the playoffs for the Islanders two years ago.

“He has good experience, and he will be our third- or fourth-place hitter,” said Potoshnik. “He is my horse on the mound, and I am going to ride him. We will keep tabs on him and his innings, but he has been working hard with conditioning, so we are confident he will be ready.”

Black was ready for the first preseason game when the Islanders beat Ingraham High School 3-2 behind 5 2/3 innings from the senior.

“I feel pretty confident,” said Black. “I have worked hard in the off-season. But this is a team game, and we all need to step up.”

Black’s defensive prowess in center field during the past three seasons has showcased his athleticism.

“We have a lot of seniors on this team who have been playing together since our sophomore year,” said Black. “I don’t think anything is out of our reach. Coach Potoshnik has the skills to get us to state — we just have to be willing to work for it.”

Taking over for the senior in center field will be freshman Jordan Richards.

This year, the test will be on Black’s arm.

Seniors Andy Thompson and Cullen Russell, along with left-handed junior Cameron Wilson will join Black as key elements of the 2008 pitching staff.

One advantage that the pitchers will have is a veteran catcher in senior Andrew Higgins, who knows the league and has a head for baseball.

“He will be a big asset for us,” said Potoshnik. “He has great knowledge of the game.”

Potoshnik also said that his team is lucky in that there is little drop-off when they go to back-up catcher junior AJ Simpson.

The win against Ingraham showed the team’s weakness: defense. Two errors during the seventh inning nearly took the win away.

“We have yet to play a complete game,” said Potoshnik. “We have to get better.”

But the three runs came from a balanced lineup. Leading off for the Islanders this season will be second baseman Joey Scalzo followed by sophomore shortstop Willy Reel and Black. Junior Dave Courtney has brought his big bat to the varsity squad and should be a fixture in the cleanup spot.

“Past that, we will mix things up and see where people fit best,” said Potoshnik.

The coach admitted that he learned a lot from last season which he did not expect.

“The biggest thing was that the season is very short,” said Potoshnik. “We have to work more as a team because we don’t have the time to work with every player individually. They have to put the time in during the off-season.”

Potoshnik and his team are realistic. In a league with three legitimate state title contenders, returning to the glory of 1998 may not be a realistic goal. But for the Islanders, making the playoffs and getting back to .500 after a 4-14 season is a real possibility.

“We want to get one step better,” said Potoshnik. “A lot of it this year is personal pride. There are a lot of teams that don’t even blink when they see us on the schedule. I told them that should bug them.”