EVERETT — The Arlington Stilly Valley All-Stars won the district championship game from Pacific Little League 8-5 at Phil Johnson Fields July 8.

Stilly Valley went 5-0 in the tournament.

“I’m not sure how many years it’s been,” coach Brian Davis said of the last time the team won at districts. “But it’s been a long time coming.”

Stilly Valley opened with a 1-0 lead in the first inning but fell behind after two homers by Pacific in the fourth made it 4-2.

“We kind of named them the ‘Stilly bash boys’ because they never give up,” Davis said. “They know when there’s an inning left, there’s a chance left.”

Stilly Valley got some relief when its “bash boy” Michael Tsouskalas scored a run, putting the score 4-3 going into the fifth inning.

“He was by far our best hitter coming in,” Davis said. “He’s been our lead offensive hitter. He’s kind of the spark plug in our lineup.”

The lefty ignited the squad with a 3-run homer in the fifth, followed by pitcher Jacob Burkett with a two-run homer. Tsouskalas led the led the team with three runs.

With the score 8-4 in the final inning, Burkett gave up a solo homer for the final score.

“I coached this team for the last four years,” Davis said. “The main nucleus is the same group of kids, and we never advanced out of districts. So to get this monkey off our back was huge.”

Stilly Valley will play its first state game in Woodinville July 25.