Liberty baseball can’t overcome Mercer Island’s big inning

Published 12:46 pm Friday, April 10, 2026

It was a tale of two halves for Liberty High School baseball as they dropped their second straight game and lost the season series to Mercer Island following an 11-9 loss to the Islanders on April 9.

“It sucks to lose to a rival, especially when you are up and then down and fight all the way back,” head coach Zach Beatty said. “We got punched pretty hard and we punched back almost as hard. Just a little too late at the end of the day.”

The game started as good as it could have for Liberty. The Patriots cruised to a 2-0 lead thanks to a dynamite start from sophomore Tate Tuininga. The right-handed fire baller didn’t allow a hit through the first four innings and struck out five Islanders in those four innings.

His fastball touched 92 mph, according to radar guns behind home plate, and in the first four innings, Tuininga was at his best.

“It was electric. That is him. At his best that is what Tate is. In his last couple games he has been impeccable in three and four innings,” Beatty said.

Then the fifth inning happened.

Tuininga hit the leadoff batter, who was later thrown out at second base. He struck out the second batter for the first out of the inning. But then the wheels fell off for Tuininga. Liam Sirianni singled for the Islanders’ first hit of the game. A walk and hit by pitch ended Tuininga’s day as he left with the bases loaded in the fifth inning.

“You want your starter to try and finish strong even through some adversity, but it got to a point where the mechanics got a little weaker as the game went on,” Beatty said. “Sometimes when something goes wrong with this team, two, three or four more things go wrong as well. We are just trying to get better at stopping the bleeding.”

Sam Bell entered the game and didn’t record an out, as by the time the fifth inning was over, the Islanders had scored 8 runs and had all the momentum.

The Liberty offense had been doing enough through the first five innings. Caleb Chin was 2-for-2 with a double and an RBI single, but was injured in the fifth inning and had to be removed from the game. But up to that point he looked like the best Patriot hitter.

“He’s a level headed presence. He’s one of our seniors and all three are really mature kids. We need all three of them,” Beatty said.

Not far behind him was freshman Matthew Bligh, who made his varsity debut earlier this season against Kentridge. Bligh finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with an RBI. Beatty has seen a ton of improvement from the young player.

“It’s to the point where early on you’re impressed and now it is something you expect. He works hard and has performed well enough to now we expect that out of him,” Beatty said.

Liberty scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a run scoring error and a single from Carson McCarry, which cut the lead to 8-4. A three spot in the sixth put Liberty back in a hole that they desperately tried to climb out of.

The Patriots responded in a big way, scoring four runs in the sixth for their best inning of the game. A run scored on a wild pitch and sac fly from Hudson Kauzlarich cut the lead to 5, then McCarry doubled and Jake Bajsarowicz scored on a wild pitch.

Down just three heading into the seventh, Liberty was back in the game and knocking on the door. Griffin Ellsworth started the inning off with a single, which was followed by a single from Wyatt West, but Ellsworth was thrown out at third base trying to go first to third.

With two outs, the inning was extended following a Mercer Island error, which put the tying run on base. Colton Hollerbach walked, loading the bases for Bajsarowicz, who grounded out to end the game.

Liberty has now lost two in a row and four of their last six games. The Patriots take on Inglemoor on April 10 as the hunt for the playoffs continues. “When we win tomorrow the vibes are going to be right back to where they should be. We knew this was the toughest stretch of our season,” Beatty said.