BIGGS >> When you have ridden a wave of emotion for two weeks, where the magnitude of each game determines whether your season continues, adrenaline oozes through your veins.

The sudden impact of it ending without achieving the ultimate goal left softball players for King City in a state of despair that the journey was over.

“The girls took it hard,” King City softball coach Artie Carrillo said. “Especially for the seniors. There were a lot of tears. Emotions ran high.”

The Mustangs historical season through the playoffs took them on a magical ride that ended Friday with a 4-2 loss to top seed Biggs of Butte County in the Northern California Division V championships.

“I’m so proud of the girls for what they did,” Carrillo said. “These girls made history. It was an honor to represent King City and make a run with these kids.”

Having absorbed one of their worst losses of the season in the team’s regular season finale, the Mustangs (20-12) used the playoffs to turn their season around, capturing five straight postseason games to reach the finals.

During its journey, King City won the program’s only Central Coast Section Division V title, and the only section title in girls’ sports at King City since 1992.

“For them, understanding what they did will be a process,” Carrillo said. “The message we kept telling them during the playoffs was be in the moment. You don’t know if you’ll get back here. We were creating history as we were going.”

Having finished fourth in the Mission Division, King City was a team possessed in the playoffs, outscoring five teams 61-12 to reach the title game. Three of those games ended in the fifth inning because of the 10-run rule

“It’s been a turnaround look for us in the playoffs,” Carrillo said. “Today we just did not have enough to get the job done. It does not take away what this group accomplished.”

As the Mustangs have done throughout the postseason, they struck first when senior Amity Hearne singled home Avery Munoz to give them a 1-0 lead over the host Wolvernines, who finished the season 29-3.

Champions of the SAC Joaquin Section, Biggs came into the game riding a 13-game winning streak behind right-handed pitcher Gracie Sheppard, who improved to 21-1, compiling an earned run average of 1.34.

Anchored by freshman Arden Vine and her .534 batting average and eight home runs, Biggs put a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the fourth inning to erase the deficit, then added solo runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

“They were No. 1 for a reason,” Carrillo said. “Biggs had some hitters through its lineup. We made some good defensive plays to escape jams.”

Having relied all spring on the arm of Alizah Carrillo, the sophomore kept the Mustangs in the game with the aid of her defense for six innings.

And when Hearne’s fielder’s choice scored Munoz in the seventh, there was hope that King City had some magic left in their bats, only to have Sheppard slam the door.

The game was moved to Friday because of King City’s graduation is Saturday. Carrillo will be losing four starters from this year’s record-setting team.

“It was a one-of-a-kind team this year,” Carrillo said. “Jocelyn (Romero) and Amity (Hearne) will be hard to place. They were my team captains. It leaves a void. But we got a taste of what we can do if we push ourselves. It’s promising.”