The Golden Gators began the season with dreams of just being in the playoff hunt after losing a lot of talent and moving up to 4A. They ended the year with dreams of a state championship, though they came up just short in that endeavor.

Decatur faced South Kitsap in the semi-finals at Joe Martin Stadium in Bellingham. The Wolves had been in this position the last two seasons. The Gators had not been this far in almost three decades.

Earlier on in the season, Decatur had bested South Kitsap 6-2. It was not to be this time as the Wolves shut out the Gators 5-0.

South Kitsap got to Decatur pitcher Garrett Westberg in the third inning for three runs. In the 5.2 innings he pitched, Westberg only allowed five hits and four walks and struck out six batters. Only two of the four runs scored on him were earned.

The Wolves added two more runs in the sixth to give their pitcher, Mac McCarty, a little more insurance.

Decatur was able to get to McCarty a bit, but was never able to finish the job. They managed five hits and five base-on-balls, but McCarty always found a way to get the final out before a run could cross the plate. The low-scoring games finally caught up to Decatur.

“We left runners on base in both games,” Decatur head coach Korey Sites said. “Sometimes baseball is just like that. We just couldn’t get a hit at the right time and that’s just how the entire weekend went.”

South Kitsap went on to win the state championship against Newport after beating the Gators.

Decatur played Gig Harbor in the third/fourth place game and fell 3-1 to the Tides.

“I’m really proud of what we achieved this year,” Sites said. “We tied the best the school has ever done in its 40-year history and that’s just a huge achievement.”

The fourth place finish is tied with the 1988 team for the best in school history.

The team will once again see a lot of established talent move on before next season. Pitching will take a huge hit much like it did coming into this year.

“I’m happy with the foundation we have built for the future,” Sites said. “We’ve never had a team practice as hard as this year’s team and it showed on the field. All that being said, our league is tough and we’re going to lose a lot of pitching. Young guys will need to step it up, especially the young pitchers. We’ve got to go back out there and prove ourselves again next year.”

Decatur finishes the year with a league record of 7-5 and an overall record of 15-16.