They were close, but an impressive run at the state title came to an abrupt end for the Eastlake 9-10 year-old Little League All Stars Friday evening.

After dropping their opening state tournament game 9-6 to Cascade, Eastlake fought back to win five elimination games in five days. They came up just one run shy of claiming a sixth straight win and advancing to championship day, falling 2-1 to Gig Harbor American.

Eastlake beat Salmon Creek 9-1, Asotin County 15-6, Chehalis 10-2, North Bothell 7-6, and Cascade 13-0 after dropping its tournament opener.

Gig Harbor American moved on to face Kent during Saturday’s championship at Tyee High School in SeaTac. Kent beat Gig Harbor 3-2, preventing a winner-take-all game later in the day.

This year’s Eastlake 9-10 year-old all stars consisted of Alex Gomes, Justin Armbruester, Ryan Isler, Hank Pladson, Elliott Carney, Cody Cox, Aaron Nettles, Dalton Prince, Zach Vander Hoek, Ben Howard, Cole Brinkman and Lucas Hansell. The team was coached by manager Mark Prince and Kirk Hansell.