All season, Bellevue baseball coach Pete Wilkinson has talked about his team’s dedication to executing the details, even in the face of pressure packed situations.
Monday, in the finale for a quartet of seniors and with a second straight regular season championship on the line, his Wolverines delivered yet again.
Isaac Lee knocked in a pair of runs and scored another, and Nick Kafer worked six innings on the mound as Bellevue beat Mercer Island 5-4 to claim the regular season 3A KingCo baseball crown.
Kafer added a double and RBI at the plate, while Rob Lundquist and Jack Savard also delivered doubles in the win.
In his six innings of work, the Wolverines’ starter allowed three runs on four hits, striking out four.
Ruric Ellings gave up a pair of hits and one run in the seventh, but quelled the final Islander threat to preserve the win and conference championship.
Mercer Island, which beat Bellevue 9-0 in the other game between the two conference frontrunners this season, committed four errors in the game, and was held scoreless for four innings after jumping on top with a run in the top half of the first.
The win sends the Wolverines to the KingCo tournament with the top seed, and a first round bye.
Bellevue opens the tournament Saturday at 1 p.m. at Bannerwood Park against the winner of a loser-out game, with a tournament title game spot on the line.
The tournament champion earns the conference’s automatic 3A state tournament spot, while the second place finisher will meet a Metro opponent for the final state berth from the district.
Interlake opens against Juanita in a Thursday loser-out game.
Newport handled Garfield 8-0 behind another standout performance on the mound from junior pitcher Todd Reese, and heads to Saturday’s 4A KingCo tournament at Woodinville as the second seed from the Crown.
The Knights face Woodinville in a first round game.