Christal McGlothin doesn’t have a player on the Vidalia Little League Softball 10U all-star team, but that didn’t change her feelings for the players she does have.

After Vidalia dropped its state championship game to Jackson Parish Tuesday night, 2-0, Vidalia’s players shed a few tears, but so did McGlothin.

“They are all like my kids,” McGlothin said. “They worked so hard, and we practiced for weeks and weeks every day.

“They deserved this, and it’s killing me. It’s just hard to swallow.”

Vidalia’s defense was strong all night as Natalie Webb jumped to catch a strongly hit ball between first and second base to end the first inning. Molly Shirley followed with a double play at first base to end the second inning.

Unfortunately, Vidalia had too many slip ups in the third inning and Jackson Parish slipped in one run.

Jackson Parish added one more run in the bottom of the fifth to seal the win.

“They just hit the ball better than we did tonight, and that’s what won it for them,” McGltohin said. “I definitely think our defense is better than anyone that was in this tournament. They think quick. We have had plenty of people that tell us, too.”

Starting pitcher Addie Johnson pitched all six innings in the loss, recording seven strikeouts along the way.

Though its all-star run is over, Vidalia has a rather young team meaning a majority of players in the age group will be eligible to play again next year.

“They will be back,” McGlothin said. “We’ve had a great tournament. We started out in the first game and made it all the way to the championship. It just didn’t happen tonight, and that’s OK.”

As McGlothin tried to console her players following the loss, she told them how proud she was and how much she enjoyed coaching this season.

“Y’all are the champions in my heart,” McGlothin told the group.