The Mercer Island High School baseball team did not meet all of their team goals this spring. After losing out in the first round of the playoffs to the Sammamish Totems the team has its sights set on next year.

“We didn’t reach all of our goals and it was a bit of a let down,” said head coach Brian Potoshnik. “I’m proud of the group, they competed how they worked; hard. They had a high level of character.”

The team and its coaches would have liked more, a better run in the playoffs, a better record overall, but Potoshnik said a variety of circumstances, be it injuries, weather or just bad luck, made it difficult.

The No. 1 thing he wanted the older players to take away is to give it their all, because, especially in the playoffs, a team never knows when the last game is going to be.

“Don’t take anything for granted,” he said. Potoshnik also said he wanted to team to come away with more confidence, knowing they stepped up and proved themselves to a lot the teams and coaches in the league this spring.

“I want them to come away with the fact that we can play with anyone in the league,” he said. “We do belong and we can compete.” Changing the belief system and team culture from the previous several years will continue to be a focus point for the coaches. Potoshnik said he wants to get the belief system instilled in the players that they can play with the best teams and win KingCo.

“That’s the next step,” he said. “Mercer Island is not the doormat anymore and teams know that.”

For the team to take the next step into the playoffs Potoshnik said the players will need to continue to build their confidence. Getting there will require strong leadership, which Potoshnik said he expects next season to come in a big way from Jordan Richartz and Willy Reel.

“I expect them to take more of a leadership role,” he said. “They had great years and I want them to demand others work as hard as they do.” As a team the coach said the pitching roster will need to take it to the next level in 2010. One of this season’s disappointments was that George Jiranek was injured early on, missing most of the season’s games. Overall, Potoshnik said, pitching consistency and confidence will be a focus next spring.

“The team just needs to work harder as a whole,” he said, if they expect to get to the next level.

The team finished out the season with an 8-12 record.