Baseball: Islanders Split Final Pre-Season Road Games

The team faced some of the state's toughest teams in their final preseason weekend warm-ups for the 2012 regular season.

The Islanders faced 4A powerhouse Newport in neighboring Bellevue on Thursday and defending the 2011 4A State Champion Bothell Cougars on the road up north on Saturday.

The Bothell game was a low scoring battle throughout, with the Cougars scoring an unearned run on an error in the first to establish a lead. MI senior Nick Holstead then came up big in the top of the 2nd, hitting a 2-run double to deep left field to give the Islanders the lead. Bothell came right back in the bottom of the 2nd with the tying run on another error in the field, and then two teams battled through a few errors and miscues for the next few innings, but nether could put another run on the board until the 5th inning. In the top of the 5th, starting MI pitcher Max Dammeier drove in a run to put the islanders in front, and the team added an additional run to take a 4-2 lead after their half of the 5th to end the scoring.

The Islanders senior pitching duo of Max Dammeier and Hunter Goldberg again carried the day on the mound. Dammeier (2-1) started the game and got the win, pitching 5 innings and giving up 2 unearned runs with 4 hits and 4 strikeouts on 90 pitches. Goldberg (1-0, 1 save) then came in to face the meat of the Bothell lineup.

The Cougars kept fighting hard and provided a challenge at the plate for the final two innings, but Goldberg was able to fight back and shut out the defending champs to secure the save, throwing 2 innings on 4 hits, 3 strikeouts and 44 pitches.  

Last Thursday, the Islanders traveled to 4A power and former rival Newport for its next to last preseason test. Mercer Island sophomore Chris Lawler started his first game of the year and held Newport in check for 4 innings, giving up 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 3 walks. 

Pitching and defense again ruled the day as the Islanders and Knights battled through 7 innings to a 3-3 tie. MI junior Alex Himstead, who had come in to the game in relief in the 5th, pitched 3 solid innings to keep the game tied up.

But in the 8th inning, the Knights put runners on base early in the inning and then scored the winning run on a bloop single to short center field that barely slipped off the outstretched glove of Islander senior second baseman Nick Holstead. The game ended, 4-3. Max Dammeier, Matt Orehek and Cameron Ogard each had RBI's in the game as the Islanders eeked out only 3 hits for the afternoon.  

The Islander Varsity finished their preseason schedule at 3-2 and readies this week for KingCo 3A league play next week. They will open on the road against Juanita HS on Monday April 2nd and then travel to defending 2011 3A champ Mt Si HS on April 4th, before returning for their home opener  on Friday April 6th against Lake Washington.

— This information was provided by the Mercer Island High School Baseball Booster Club