Coupeville Sports

Jordan Wilcox and proud dad Mark. (Mindy Wilcox photo)

And then it ended, decided by one stinkin’ run.

Despite getting a hit from Coupeville High School grad Jordan Wilcox for the fourth straight game, the season finally ran out of miracles for the Western Washington University baseball team Tuesday.

Playing in 88-degree Tampa, the Vikings were edged 5-4 by Penn State, eliminating WWU from the National Club Baseball Association Division 1 World Series. Seeded seventh in the eight team field, Western was the fifth team eliminated.

Penn State, now 3-0, advances to play either James Madison or Florida in the championship.

Western, which beat Illinois and Iowa during the tourney, finished 2-2 with its only losses to schools that are unbeaten so far (PSU and James Madison).

In what turned out to be their final go-round, the Vikings rallied from three down to tie the game in the top of the third. Then, after falling back behind 5-3, they scraped together another run in the fifth, but failed to get the equalizer over the final four innings.

Wilcox, who had a hit in every game, hit .313 in the World Series — fourth-best on his team — and knocked in two runs.

He added another five assists and five putouts in the field against Penn State. The second baseman, a multi-sport star during his time as a Wolf, led Western with 13 assists during the tourney.