ARLINGTON — The Marysville Little League Junior All-Stars played a fierce District 1 championship game against Stilly Valley Little League on July 9, and although they stayed competitive to the end of the seventh inning, they took second place and walked off the field with a trophy in hand.

“We had a great season,” said All-Stars Head Coach Pete Muñoz. “We put up big numbers, we had 15 runs some games. We all came together and had good defense, good hitting and a really good group of guys.”

The team said the season was one of their best. “Marysville hasn’t gone this far in several years,” said Christina Lind, mother of All-Star Erik Lind. “It’s always exciting, but this time it was really exciting because they battled back from the loser’s bracket to make it to this game. Even though they got second place, they had a lot of heart.”

Erik Lind said that his team had spent some time preparing for the game. “Going into that game we knew it was going to be tough,” he said. “We played that team in the regular season they were always pretty good.” For Lind, the best part of the All-Star game was the bottom of the seventh inning when Marysville scored three runs in an effort to catch up to Stilly Valley — and they almost made it.

“I knew it was going to be a close game whether we won or lost,” said All-Star Zack Yarbrough. “When were down by six, that’s when we really needed those runs.” Marysville players started getting on base and scoring and the spirits were high. “Everyone in the dugout was going crazy,” said Yarbrough.

“It was pretty surreal,” said Karen Jacobsen, Yarbrough’s mother. “Because Marysville hasn’t been competitive in years. It was pretty exciting. Even the parents were saying, ‘We only need nine more runs’ and then we got six.”

“Marysville hasn’t gotten this far in a while,” said Yarbrough. “We were pretty happy to get any trophy.”

The feeling in the stands was nothing short of ecstatic as the team scored run after run. “The spirit was very energetic,” said Eric Epstein, father of All-Star Austin Epstein. “It was amazing to see a bunch of young men rally together. You could feel the energy.”

Austin Epstein agreed. “It sounded like an MLB stadium to me,” he said. “That team was the dream team for me, we gelled so well. It was amazing to have a team like that.”

Epstein’s teammate Garrett Anderson also felt proud of the team. “The best part was just how we played together as a team,” said Anderson. “Our coach really believed in us.”

His dad, Dean Anderson, said the players remained positive following the game. “It was pure joy,” he said. “They lost the last one, but they were all smiles.”

Muñoz expressed gratitude to the umpires, the fans, assistant coaches Bruce Broome and Haakon Leiron, Ken Lind and Todd “The Garbage Man” Petersen.

“They were an integral part of our season.”

But most of all, Muñoz was proud of the players.

“You know the kids had a lot to come in here on the bottom of the seventh and score the runs that they did,” said Muñoz. “We got a great team and they all have bright futures ahead of them.”