EVERETT — It was the only bus ride the Wolves baseball players did not want to take all season.

The South Kitsap squad made the journey to Everett Memorial Stadium May 19 hoping to win two games and book a trip to Gesa Stadium, four hours away from Port Orchard. After another year full of long bus rides and road games, what better way to end the season than with a chance to win a state championship in the Tri-Cities?

“The bus rides were the best,” senior Drew Worden said. “And we had a lot of them.”

But the clutch hit never came for South Kitsap in its first-round 4A state tournament game. The Wolves put at least two runners on base in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, but the rallies never materialized and it resulted in a 3-0 loss to Jackson.

There was no trip to Pasco — just an early afternoon ride home. But no one was quite ready to leave. The players, coaches and families lingered outside the stadium, trading hugs and memories, holding on to the moment as long as they could.

“The bond between all of us was so tight,” Worden said.

There was certainly some bad luck involved in the loss — Sam Canton hit a ball on the button with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, but the centerfielder didn’t have to move an inch to field it. Worden also hit a hard line drive right to the shortstop with two runners on in the seventh.

But Jackson starter Alec Schuldt also induced six pop flies and several more lazy fly balls as he efficiently cruised through the South Kitsap lineup on 83 pitches over seven innings, giving up just three hits.

“Even though we went in there with the right game plan, we weren’t very disciplined and this time of the year, that’s what happens,” head coach Marcus Logue said. “If you’re not disciplined at the plate, trust the plan and do what you’re supposed to, you’re not going to execute.”

Jacob Duarte picked up the first hit of the game in the fifth. And after Nathaniel Beers was hit by a pitch, the Wolves had something cooking. But a pop out and strikeout quelled the threat.

Alex Garcia started a two-out rally in the sixth with a long double off the highest part of the wall in left field. Torre DiGiovanni followed with a walk and Duarte was hit to load the bases. Canton, a freshman, got a good pitch to hit and smashed a line drive, but center fielder Carter Booth never had to budge. It was in his glove and the inning was over.

“We should score more than three runs,” Worden said. “That’s on us hitters; the pitchers were awesome. I’m proud of them.”

Garrison Glisson got the call to start the game and yielded two unearned runs. An error followed by an Addison Beckman double broke the ice in the third inning. Bradley Lundquist followed with an RBI single to give Jackson a 2-0 lead. Glisson gave up just four hits and walked one. Jason Sauer gave up just one run on two hits and struck out two over the final three innings.

In the seventh inning, Blake Ballew worked a one-out walk and Nate Wotzka lined a single to center, giving South Kitsap one final chance to break through against Schuldt.

After a pop out, Worden, who recently received a full academic scholarship to Gonzaga, hit a frozen rope that seemed destined for extra bases. But it was hit right at shortstop Kyle Serres to end the game.

The players were in stunned disbelief as they slowly exited the first base dugout. The team gathered on a grassy field outside the stadium as the coaching staff held its final post-game talk. Players embraced, as did family members, making the most of that final walk to the parking lot.

Finally, it was time for one last ride together.

Jackson 3, South Kitsap 0

SK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 3 1

JK 0 0 2 0 1 0 x — 3 6 0

WP: Schuldt LP: Glisson

Pitching

South Kitsap — Glisson 3 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, BB, K; Sauer 3 IP, 2 H, R, ER, 2 K.

Jackson — Schuldt 7 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K.

Hitting

South Kitsap — A. Garcia 1-3, 2B; Duarte 1-2, HP; Wotzka 1-3; Ballew 0-0, BB.

Jackson — Beckman 1-3, 2B, R, RBI; Altamirano 1-3, RBI; Lundquist 1-3, RBI; Booth 1-3, 2 R.

— Mark Krulish is a reporter for Kitsap News Group. He can be reached at mkrulish@soundpublishing.com. Follow him on Twitter @MKrulishKDN.