Disappointed? Yes.

But heads were still held high, smiles were visible and the occasional laugh was still heard as the Skyline baseball team exited Everett Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

“We feel good about the season, we’re just disappointed we got out before we made it to Safeco,” said senior pitcher Peyton Harrod, after falling 16-4 to Kentwood in the opening round of the 4A state tournament.

The Spartans, who entered the KingCo tournament as a No. 4 seed and one of only two teams with a losing record, surprised everyone but themselves last week when they captured the third and final state playoff berth from District 2/4.

They couldn’t keep the magic alive Saturday, however, as a series of defensive miscues, questionable calls and big Kentwood hits proved too much.

“We struggled a little bit there defensively getting off the field with two outs,” Skyline head coach Chris Tamminen said. “There was some momentum change in calls that hurt a little bit, but the bottom line is they’re a hell of a team, they hit the ball.”

Kentwood jumped on Harrod in the first inning when Bryant VanEngelenburg ripped a one-out RBI single up the middle. Then, with two outs, Avery Kain hit a ball to junior shortstop Wes Blackburn. He was unable to field the ball cleanly, allowing another run to score from third. The play opened the gates for another two-run hit from Matt Bell, resulting in a 4-0 Conqueror lead.

“Not being able to get off the field with two outs was brutal,” Tamminen said.

The Spartans responded quickly to their the slow start, scoring three runs in the top of the third inning to pull within one, 4-3.

Anthony DeMatteo blasted an RBI single up the middle, scoring Connor Gilchrist, who led the inning off with a walk and a steal. Nate Litka followed with a single and a steal of second, putting runners at second and third with no outs. Then, with one out, sophomore Jim Sinatro lined out to third base. The fielder tried to catch Litka leading off the base at second, and DeMatteo broke for home scoring a run. An attempt to throw DeMatteo out at home plate got passed the catcher and Litka continued to run the bases sliding in safely for another run.

“We kind of came back there, we felt like ‘Hey we can play with these guys,'” Tamminen said.

The air was taken right out of Skyline’s sails in the next inning, however.

With two outs and a runner on third base, Harrod struck out Kentwood’s Cash McGuire for what appeared to be the third out of the inning. Running back to the dugout, the catcher, Sinatro, tossed the ball back to the mound. The umpire ruled that he didn’t catch the third strike, however, allowing the hitter to move safely to first and the runner to score from third for a 5-3 lead.

Momentum seemed to favor the Conquerors from then on.

Kentwood scored four more runs with two outs in the bottom of the fourth for a 9-3 lead. They erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth, highlighted by VanEngelenburg’s three-run home run to centerfield. Kain also came up big for the Conquerors, going 3-for-4 with three RBI.

“We needed damage control,” said Harrod, who pitched 3 2/3 innings. “When things didn’t go our way we didn’t pick it up and get the next out, they just kept scoring again and again.”

Kentwood continued its domination its quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, beating Mountlake Terrace 12-3 to move on to SafeCo Field on Friday for the state semifinals.

The Spartans, who appropriately headed towards their bus with the sound of the Rocky theme blaring over the stadium loudspeakers, finished their season with a 12-12 record.

“It was a great run,” Tamminen said. “The run that we had to KingCo and getting here — it was very enjoyable from that standpoint. You always hate to see it end for the seniors, that’s the tough part.”