The Juanita High baseball team dropped a critical 3A KingCo League game, 5-1, to Mercer Island on Wednesday at Lee Johnson Field in Kirkland.

The Islanders (10-3 overall, 10-2) put distance between themselves and the pack fighting for the third seed, while the Rebels (5-8, 5-7) moved into a three-way tie for fourth, a game behind Liberty in the loss column.

Mercer Island’s Michael Petrie hit two doubles and finished with three hits and two RBIs. The Islanders took a lead in the top of the first inning on a double from Harrison Goonewardene and on a dropped third strike, which allowed Petrie to reach first base and Goonewardene to score.

Taylor Peterson was three-for-three at the plate, but the Rebels’ only run came on an error in the bottom of the fourth inning when Dexter Mell capitalized on an Islanders’ mistake.

Next, the Rebels are scheduled to play Sammamish on Friday, April 15, at 7 p.m. at Lee Johnson Field in Kirkland.