Kangs Fall to Mercer Island 14-12

Mercer Island outlasted in a slugfest of a baseball game Tuesday evening at Island Crest Park, holding off a Kangs rally in the last inning to win 14-12.

Mercer Island had 16 hits to LW’s 11, with two of the biggest blows off the bats of Islanders Matt Orehek (bases-clearing double) and Alex Himstead (two-run homer).

It was the second high-scoring game of the season for these two teams, the Kangs clipping MI 12-11 in 11 innings in Kirkland on April 8.

“These are just two outstanding offensive teams who take advantage when a pitcher makes a mistake,” said LW coach Derek Bingham. “You can’t control pitching, but in terms of what we can control, we played one of our best games of the season.”

The Kangs’ Theo Alexander led off the top of the seventh with a solo home run to make the score 14-10. Stevie Semler then doubled to bring home courtesy runner Cory Keierleber.

Neil O'Connor followed with an RBI single to score Semler, bringing the tying run to the plate at 14-12. Chris Moore worked his way into a 3-1 count and laced a ball to right field, only to land in the glove of an MI defender to end the game.

Sophomore catcher Semler finished 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, while shortstop Bob Cruikshank went 2-for-3 with a homer and two RBIs. Moore was 2-for-5 on the night and Alexander 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

Orehek had a huge offensive night, getting three hits in four at-bats with four RBIs. Himstead finished 4-for-4 with the homer and four RBIs, while Cameron Ogard went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The loss of the game – a make-up for a Monday night rain-out – dropped the Kangs’ KingCo 3A/2A Conference record to 6-4. LW takes on crosstown rival tonight at , 7 p.m.