It may have taken a little bit longer than expected, but things finally came around for the Mercer Island Rockers.

After an up-and-down regular season, the Rockers capped their 2016 campaign with a 19-14 win over Tukwila on Aug. 4 to win the division II final of the Puget Sound Senior Coed Softball League championship tournament in Federal Way. The win earned the Rockers the league’s fourth seed when the team returns to competition next spring.

It was quite the final push for the Mercer Island softball team. The Rockers were seventh in league standings by regular season’s end, finishing with a 10-13 record before going 3-1 in the tournament.

The previous three years, the Rockers competed against the league’s top teams in the division I playoffs, reaching the title game each year and finishing runner-up to Maple Valley 1. This year, Maple Valley 1 beat Renton 6-4 to clinch the division I title.

Rockers head coach Alan Anderson acknowledged the 2016 season didn’t exactly go as he had envisioned for his team.

“We were ahead in most of our losses in the fifth inning and somehow we managed to lose in the sixth or seventh inning,” Anderson said. “I don’t know what it was, if the rain gods were casting spells on us or what. But we would’ve had a much better record if games were five innings instead of seven.”

The Rockers made up for it in the division II tournament, which pitted teams seeded fourth through seventh in round-robin competition. The Rockers opened the tournament on Aug. 2 with a 13-9 victory over Maple Valley 2, followed by a 14-5 win over Kent that same day. Two days later, the Rockers were slated to play twice against Tukwila. Both teams had playoff records of 2-0 and had secured a spot in the championship game.

Tukwila won the first matchup 17-13, which was the last of round-robin competition, before the Rockers came back to take the title game.

“In the tournament, everything kind of came together. I have no idea why,” Anderson said. “It was a pleasant surprise. Several people said, ‘Why couldn’t we have started hitting like this earlier? We’re finally hitting. We’re finally playing together.’ Too bad it was so late.”

Anderson said the main difference he noticed this year from years past was the mix of available players, or more specifically, making up for those who were unavailable.

“It was really a different team each game,” he said. “We didn’t have the continuity that I wanted.”

After seeing a few of the weaker opposing teams make strides in league play this year with new talent, Anderson is holding out hope the Rockers can do the same next season. And though the Rockers have been used to wrapping the season in division I competition, team members savored their ability to end the year on a high note.

“It doesn’t matter what division we’re in as long as the last game is a victory,” Anderson said. “It’s always nice to end the season with a victory.”