South Whidbey’s regular season came to an unceremonious close for the Falcons Friday after a 7-1 loss to Granite Falls.

Playing the Tigers on their senior night, the baseball Falcons failed to get much going against Granite Falls’ top pitcher, senior Riley Larsen.

“He worked ahead, and they played defense behind him,” Falcon head coach Tom Fallon said of Larsen.

“He’s probably going to be my pick for league MVP,” Fallon added.

Granite Falls took a 5-1 lead after the third inning and went on to win 7-1. South Whidbey recorded six hits and a walk by sophomore Ricky Muzzy, who was the only Falcon to score a run. Larsen struck out five batters.

The loss lifted Granite Falls to second place in the Cascade Conference and bumped South Whidbey to third. Last year, South Whidbey finished 7-11 in league games; this year, the Falcons went 11-7.

“That’s a big turnaround,” Fallon said. “I’m pretty happy with where we finished.”

South Whidbey hosted Blaine in the first round of the 1A District 1 tournament Tuesday, after The Record went to press. Win or lose, South Whidbey had to travel north to Whatcom County on Thursday for the second round, either in Blaine or in Meridian.

The Falcons’ first game of the 2014 season was a 4-2 victory over the Blaine Borderites, whom Fallon described as being a young, inexperienced team devoid of a cadre of seniors.