A pair of Mercer Island sophomore sluggers made it a long Saturday afternoon for the Sumner High baseball team in the first round of the WIAA 3A state baseball tournament. On a soggy Wheeler Field in Centralia, the Spartans were brought down to earth after reaching the elite state show for the first time in a quarter of a century.

As the rain fell intermittently throughout a lopsided 9-2 affair, starting Sumner pitcher Cameron Steffey, who shouldered the lion’s share of the pitching duties for the Sparts during the later stages of the 2010 campaign, was roughed up for seven hits, two of which were homers.

Mercer Island catcher Cameron Ogard went deep with a towering three-run blast in the bottom of the fourth frame that put the Islanders up 5-0. David Oppenheim later lifted a round tripper over the left field fence with a runner on board to make the score a lopsided 7-0.

But the proud SHS club wasn’t quite ready to call it a season, as in the top of the fifth frame, first baseman Seth Morgan sparked a rally as he led off by slashing a double to right field for the initial Sumner hit of the loser-out contest.

With Morgan waiting at second, Steffey brought him home as he spanked the first pitch he saw for another two-bagger that erased the long-standing goose egg on the Sumner side of the scoreboard.

Brad Falk moved Steffey to third with a ground ball that nearly swallowed up the Islander second baseman. Then, the Mercer Island catcher threw to third and hit Steffy in the shoulder; the ball wandered aimlessly into left field allowing Steffey to hoof it home for Sumner’s second run.