ARLINGTON — The Stilly Valley Little League All-Stars look to defend their state softball championship starting Saturday, July 18, at Bakerview Park in Mount Vernon at 11 a.m.

The 10-and-11-year-olds got their chance to repeat going undefeated in the district tournament. They are “confidently optimistic” but coach Keith Krueger knows there’s a challenge ahead of them.

“There are still good teams out there that we had close games with last year,” Krueger said.

But Stilly Vally returns pitcher Riley Swanson, who carried Stilly through state.

She has gotten only better, being able to throw change-ups and curveballs along with her signature fastball, Krueger said.

A new addition is Kaci Smith, who not only pitches but happens to be a strong batter with great base-running skills the coach said.

“We have good depth hitting,” Krueger said.

Along with being a good lead-off batter, Kaci can also deliver a fastball and change-up, Krueger said.

In practice, Krueger has been focusing on team cohesion.

“We’ve been working on defense and communication,” he said. “And playing with each other.”