Islanders Looking Good Heading Into Conference Play

The could not have asked for a better start to their season. On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day Mercer Island rode a one hit performance from junior pitcher Max Dammeirer to a 2-0 victory over the Newport Knights who entered that ball game ranked 4^th in the Washington State 4A division.

Mercer Island head coach Cory Smith has to be happy with his team’s performance in the early stages of the season. Since the defeat of Newport, Smith — now in his second year at the helm for the Islanders (4-1) — has seen his squad defeat Garfield, Franklin, and Bothell while stumbling only once against Mountlake Terrace.

The Islander’s 4-1 start is made even more impressive by the fact that they lost shortstop Willy Reel to graduation after last season. Reel, who now plays for the University of Washington, was a four year starter for Mercer Island and was awarded the KingCo 3A Most Valuable Player Award in 2010.

With Reel’s departure a big reason for the Islanders strong start has been the outstanding play of outfielder Jordan Richartz. The 6’ 0" senior went 0-4 in the first game of the season but has come on strong with five extra base hits including a home run over the Islander’s last four games raising his batting average to a mark of .545.

Richartz has not had to look far for offensive support either as fellow outfielder David Oppenheim has provided some punch of his own. Oppenheim has started his junior season hitting .533 and keyed the Islander’s 6-5 victory over Bothell when he went 2-4 with a double, 2 RBIs, and a run scored.

Another Islander that has stepped up his game is senior shortstop Evan Thompson. Thompson leads Mercer Island with 6 runs batted in and is hitting .412. Coach Smith was quick to point out how hard Thompson has worked and that the senior has been a terrific leader from the leadoff spot in the batting order.

As the calendar now turns to April the defending league champion Islanders enter their conference schedule. The Islanders have three games scheduled this week as they begin play against KingCo 3A opposition. The first two contests will be home games at against Juanita and Mount Si on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Both games will begin at 6 p.m.

The Varsity line-up:

1. Derek Eng (Sr.)
2. George Jiranek (Sr.)
3. Jordan Richartz (Sr.)
4. Evan Thompson (Sr.)
5. Max Dammeier (Jr.)
6. Hunter Goldberg (Jr.)
7. Nick Holstead (Jr.)
8. Cameron Ogard (Jr.)
9. David Oppenheim (Jr.)
10. Phil Pugel (Jr.)
11. Brian Higgins (Soph.)
12. Isak Morris (Soph.)