Despite not making the regional playoffs, the King’s Fork High School baseball team felt good about its season.

This week when the regional playoff brackets came out, King’s Fork had missed out on a spot by 0.4 of a point. Even though they didn’t get in, Coach Robert Hedrick was satisfied with some of the things they were able to do this season.

“We fell just a tad bit short,” Hedrick said. “We had a few games that could have went our way but didn’t. We played hard, and we did the things we wanted to do.”

Hedrick felt his team finished its last week of the season strong.

“I went out there and told the guys I know we didn’t have the season we wanted, but let’s go out there and finish the season strong,” Hedrick said.

They defeated rival Lakeland High School in the last game of the season. They had to score four runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and win the game.

“They took pride in the fact that we weren’t going to go down like that,” Hedrick said. “They grinded hard, and we came out with a win, and that was a positive thing.”

The Bulldogs will be a young team next season, as they will likely have only one senior on the roster. Hedrick is excited about some of the talent he will be bringing up from the JV level, which had a strong season this year. King’s Fork is looking forward to a good offseason and is looking to get better in the summer and during the fall season.

KFHS got a lot of production out of its senior class this season, with some of them going on to play in college. Seniors like Chris Allen, Noah Floyd, Mason Brown and Juan Marrero all had good moments for the Bulldogs and were pivotal in providing leadership for the younger players.

“I have enjoyed those guys,” Hedrick said. “I have been with them for a couple of years, and they have given me their all every time they have stepped on the field. It is hard seeing guys leave, especially after you build relationships with these guys and become close with them.”

Even though the Bulldogs didn’t quite achieve all they wanted, Hedrick is always more appreciative of the fact his players can earn an education as well as play at the next level.