In a rematch of Thursday's final, Mercer Island beat the All-stars from Kent LL, 10-5, to finish a perfect 10-0 run to the league's first ever Little League state championship. 

Mercer Island threatened early, getting two runners on in the first, but was unable to score.  Fortunately, starting pitcher Josh Stenberg needed just 7 pitches to send Kent back out to the field.  In the 2nd, Eric Kim led off with a single, Peter Lopes walked and Michael Bantle drove in Kim for the first run of the game.  David Emanuels smacked the first pitch out to center field to score Lopes and Bantle, and then scored himself on a double by Stenberg, to put MI up 4-0.  Kent went down 1-2-3 in the 2nd on just 12 more pitches by Stenberg, who also struck out 2 in the 3rd to keep MI up 4-0 after 3 innings.  Stenberg and Emanuels each scored in the 4th on a double by Anthony Scalzo, to open MI's lead to 6-0.  But Kent came roaring back in the bottom of the 4th, beginning with a leadoff home run, followed by a double and a walk and an error to load the bases with one out.  Kent's leadoff batter then hit a long fly ball to center field, and one of the Kent baserunners stumbled and fell after colliding with the MI 3rd baseman, but then was helped up and pushed toward home by the Kent coach, narrowly scoring before MI catcher David Emanuels tagged out the runner from 1st for the final out.  After a long delay while the umpires and tournament director called LL headquarters in Williamsport for guidance on the correct ruling, it was determined that two runs should score, leaving Mercer Island ahead 6-3 after 4 innings.   After MI went down 1-2-3 in the top of the 5th, Nathan Gallatin relieved Stenberg on the mound and quickly retired the meat of Kent's lineup to end the 5th, still 6-3.  The Islanders added some insurance in the top of the 6th, on a walk by Bantle and double by Emanuels, who both scored on another RBI double by Stenberg, who scored on an RBI single by Sam Pugel, who also scored following 2 more singles by Eric Kim and Andrew Pickles - leaving MI up 10-3 with 3 outs to go.  Kent managed two runs on a walk and two hits in the bottom of the 6th following a thrilling catch by Eric Kim in left field for the first out, and then Josh Stenberg made the play of the game, going way to his right to backhand a grounder to put out Kent's leadoff hitter for the 2nd out, and shortstop Michael Bantle finished them off, coolly handling a grounder and throwing out Kent's #2 hitter at 1st to preserve the 10-5 win. 

For the game, Stenberg was 3/4 with two doubles, two runs scored and 3 RBI to finish the tournament with a .500 batting average.  Eric Kim was also 3/4 with a run and RBI.  David Emanuels was 2/4 with a double, reached based all 4 times, scoring 3 runs and knocking in two more - he also finished the tournament with a .500 batting average and MI's sole home run at the state tournament.  Leadoff hitter Michael Bantle had a single and a walk, scored twice, and had an RBI.  Anthony Scalzo added two RBI with a double; Sam Pugel singled, walked, scored and drove in a run; Andrew Pickles added a single; and Peter Lopes walked and scored.  Josh Stenberg was the winning pitcher, allowing just one earned run, and closer Nathan Gallatin earned the save in relief.

Thurssday, July 24
MI comes from behind to beat Kent, 7-6, to reach Sunday's state championship game!

In a thrilling winner's bracket final, Mercer Island's 9-10 all-stars came back from a 6-3 2nd inning deficit to beat a tough Kent team, 7-6, to advance to the Little League state championship game.  As the sole remaining undefeated team in the double-elimination tournament, Mercer Island needs only to win on either Sunday or Monday to be crowned state champions.

Mercer Island started off strong with an easy 1-2-3 top of the first inning behind solid pitching from ace pitcher Michael Bantle, who also scored the first of 3 MI runs in the bottom of the first inning following a double by David Emanuels and RBI singles by Josh Stenberg and Sam Pugel.  Kent responded with a big inning in the top of the 2nd, however, scoring 6 runs on just 3 hits, thanks to uncharacteristically sloppy fielding by the Islanders.  Bantle hung tough, however, and got out of the inning with a strikeout, and then followed it up with a nice 1-2-3 3rd and near perfect 4th, before reaching his 75 pitch limit.

Mercer Island got one run back in the 3rd, when Eric Kim drove Anthony Scalzo in on a single, and then appeared to have tied the game in the 4th, when Scalzo scorched a line drive down the right field line with 2 outs and Bantle and Emanuels on, which the home plate ump signaled fair, only to have the 1st base ump call it foul, nullifying two would-be runs.  MI did get those runs back and tied the game in the 5th, however, after Sam Pugel was hit by a pitch and later scored on a throwing error by Kent's relief pitcher, and Eric Kim scored on a clutch, 2-out RBI single by Andrew Pickles.   Anthony Scalzo relieved Bantle on the mound in the 5th and held Kent scoreless for the 5th and 6th innings, allowing just 1 hit, while striking out 5 Kent batters.  In the bottom of the 6th, David Emanuels led off with a first pitch single to left field, and then scored the winning run from 1st base on a double deep to left center field by Josh Stenberg.

Emanuels finished the game 2 for 3 with a double and a walk and scored 2 runs.  Stenberg was also 2 for 3 with a double and walk, and scored once and drove in 3 more.  Sam Pugel had an RBI single and scored twice.  Eric Kim and Andrew Pickles had RBI singles and Peter Lopes also lined a single to left in the 2nd.   Combined, Bantle and Scalzo struck out 11 Kent batters and gave up just 5 base hits.

Mercer Island will play for the state championship on Sunday at 11am in Vancouver, WA.  If they lose, they will have another chance on Monday at 6pm.

Wednesday, July 23
Josh Stenberg throws 1-hit shutout to beat Capitol LL 10-0; winners bracket final vs. Kent on Thurs

Josh Stenberg threw a 1-hitter and struckout 6 in a complete game shutout of the 9-10 All-stars from Capitol LL on Wednesday to vault MI into a showdown with powerhouse Kent LL in Thursday's winners bracket final.  Stenberg also walked and scored in the first, and hit a lead-off triple and scored in the 4th.  David Emanuels was 3 for 4 on the night, including a 2-out, 2-run double off the fence in the 2nd to put MI up 3-0.  Anthony Scalzo was 2/3 with a walk, a double, an RBI and 2 runs scored.  Sam Pugel was 2/4 with 2 doubles and also scored 2 runs.  Noah Hsue drove in 2 runs with a double; Eric Kim singled in another, and Peter Lopes added a double.  Michael Bantle singled, scored and drove in another run.

MI will play the District 12 champion Kent LL All-stars on Thursday at 5:30pm, with the winner advancing to Sunday's championship game. 

Game 3 photos from Dana Kim.

Sunday, July 20
Mercer Island beats tough Richland team, 5-3, to advance to semis on Wednesday

The Mercer Island 9-10 Baseball All-stars advanced to Wednesday's semi-final game with a thrilling 5-3 win over a very strong team from Greater Richland LL.  Richland came into the game averaging nearly 18 runs a game in their 5 wins in the district 12 tournament, but only managed 3 hits off Michael Bantle, who also had all 4 RBIs for MI, including a clutch, 2-out, bases clearing double in the top of the 4th to give MI a 4-3 lead.  Anthony Scalzo relieved Bantle on the mound in the 5th and earned the save, needing just 9 pitches to retire the final 5 batters.  Scalzo also made a diving catch of a line drive to rob Richland's star player of a would-be leadoff hit in the 5th.  Noah Hsue went 2-2 and scored two of MI's runs, including stealing home on a passed ball in the 6th to add a key insurance run.  Peter Lopes got on base with a long fly ball to right and scored the first run of the game for the Islanders, on a Sac Fly by Michael Bantle in the 3rd, and also bunted for a single late in the game to advance Noah to 3rd.  Eric Kim walked twice and scored a run.  Michael Petrie had a single, as did Sam Pugel, who also made several key plays for the Islanders at first base.

Josh to Sam for the final out vs. Richland

The Islanders play next on Wednesday, at 5:30pm, against District 3 Champion Capitol LL.  All games are at at Fuller Field in Vancouver, WA. 

Saturday, July 19
9-10 All-stars explode for 24-4 opening win at state

The Mercer Island 9-10 All-stars got off to a fast start in the Little League 9-10 year-old State Baseball tournament Saturday, beating the District 6 champions from Asotin Little League 24-4 in 4 innings.  Mercer Island jumped out early with 6 runs in the top of the 1st, and took a 10-4 into the top of the 4th, when they exploded for 14 runs to put the game out of reach.  The Islanders batted around the order more than twice that inning and every player scored at least once.  Michael Bantle started on the mound and then gave way after 20 pitches to Josh Stenberg who struck out 5 of 11 batters faced.  Nathan Gallatin threw the last 1-1/3 innings, striking out 3 of 6 batters faced.

Highlights at the plate included:

• Leadoff batter Michael Bantle was 3-5 with 2 RBI
• David Emanuels was 2-3 with a walk, HBP a 3-run HR and 5RBI
• Josh Stenberg was 3-5 with 2 doubles and 1 RBI
• Anthony Scalzo was 2-3 with 2BB, a double and 1 RBI
• Sam Pugel was 2-4 with a walk, a double and 2 RBI
• Michael Petrie was 3-4 with a walk, a double and 3 RBI
• Eric Kim was 3-5, with 2 doubles and 5 RBI
• Nathan Gallatin was 2-4 with an RBI
• Peter Lopes went 1-1 with a walk, HBP and an RBI

Opening Ceremony at State 9-10 Tournament

More Game 1 photos, courtesy KuYuen Hsue 

The Islanders play next on Sunday at 5pm against the District 12 champions from Greater Richland LL, who went 5-0 to win their district, by a combined score of 89-9!