Wolverines dominate Islanders in rivalry contest

Bellevue captures 10th victory of the 2019 season.

By Shaun Scott • April 4, 2019 5:12 pm
Bellevue Wolverines senior Montana Jones attempts to lay down a bunt against the Mercer Island Islanders in the top of the second inning on April 3. Jones finished the game with four hits against the Islanders. Bellevue earned a 35-0 victory against Mercer Island. Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson
Bellevue Wolverines senior Montana Jones attempts to lay down a bunt against the Mercer Island Islanders in the top of the second inning on April 3. Jones finished the game with four hits against the Islanders. Bellevue earned a 35-0 victory against Mercer Island. Photo courtesy of Jim Nicholson

The Bellevue Wolverines softball team’s winning streak is still intact after a matchup against the rival Mercer Island Islanders.

Bellevue earned its 10th consecutive win, cruising to a 35-0 win on the road against Mercer Island on April 3 at the South Mercer playfields. The Wolverines improved their overall record to 10-2 with the triumph while Mercer Island dropped to 0-8 overall. Bellevue sent 17 hitters to the plate in the top of the first inning and another 12 players to the plate in the top of the second en route to a 21-0 lead after just two innings of play.

“The girls have just been hitting the daylights out of the ball,” Bellevue head coach Marty Martin said.

While Bellevue dominated in every facet of the game, Martin said his team was cognizant of the feelings of the Islanders players throughout the game due to the lopsided score.

“It is really tough to rein them in. We feel bad but we were trying to stay with what we are doing,” Martin said of his team’s mindset. “We were not trying to rub it in. The coaches and the players all understand that.”

Despite losing by a staggering 35 runs, the Islanders remained positive and upbeat during and after the game.

“They’ve figured out that improvement is really what matters. They have moved from never really playing much softball to all of a sudden all-out sprinting and diving for balls,” Mercer Island head coach Amanda Mattocks said. “I’m really proud of them. They have fun and they’re just all-out a hard-working group of girls.”

The Wolverines’ dominance since suffering 10-1 loss against the Newport Knights on March 12 is something Martin is proud of.

“Being 10-2 is a really good feeling. It is nice to have kids who can really hit the ball up and down the lineup. We just want to keep improving. We know we’ve got three really strong teams in our league (3A KingCo) that are really tough. We know the playoffs are going to be tough,” Martin said.

Leadoff hitter Montana Jones had four hits against the Islanders.

“She is a character,” Martin said of Jones. “She keeps us all hopping and is so ultra competitive.”