A humbling experience

There was no grin. Not even a hint of a smile.

I thought Andrew Watters would surely show some excitement last night after his baseball team won a riveting extra-inning battle at Everett Memorial Stadium. But Watters, who coaches Mountlake Terrace, was pretty stone-faced after his Hawks outlasted Shorewood 5-4 in nine innings.

The triumph clinched a Class 4A state tournament berth for Terrace, which will play Marysville-Pilchuck for the District 1 title 2 p.m. Saturday at Everett Memorial.

Why did Watters seem so serious after the game last night versus Shorewood? Probably because both teams played well enough to win. In the end, Terrace barely had enough to move on.

“To be quite honest with you, I don’t think anybody deserved to lose that game,” Watters said, with a look of relief on his face. “I actually feel bad for the Shorewood guys who battled so hard. I’m humbled by a game like that because it’s been so hard to get to the state tournament.”

Terrace, ranked No. 10 in the final Washington High School Baseball Class 4A Poll, will try to win the first district championship in program history Saturday, Watters said.