FERRIDAY — If the Ferriday Dixie Belles are going to repeat as state champions, they most likely will do it with a combination of power and speed.

The Belles, which are made up of players from Natchez, Vidalia and Ferriday, rolled through the recent district tournament, scoring 57 runs in five games.

The Belles won the state tournament last year and advanced to the Dixie Belles World Series, but coach Rut Horne said this year’s team is quite different.

“Last year we won nine of our 11 games by one run,” Horne said. “Many of them were won in the last inning or extra innings. This year we’ve had a five to 10-run lead most of the time. This team has more offensive power than last year’s team and more speed.”

Horne said the team’s speed is so great that other teams thought the Ferriday base runners were leaving early on steal attempts.

“People were complaining about us leaving early, but the umpires said ‘They’re not leaving early, they’re just that fast,’” Horne said. “One of the guys who did the officiating at the district tournament told me he had never seen a team as fast as these kids.”

And that speed comes into play the moment the bat contacts the ball.

“You just have to watch them to see how much they can get out of a single,” Horne said. “If (the defense) hesitates just for a second, they’re going on to second base.”

And while Ferriday has made a living out of taking the extra base and stealing bases, their catcher, Taylor Morace, has made sure the other team isn’t doing the same thing.

“Our catcher is so stout that a single for the other team is just that,” Horne said. “Whereas, if we get a single, we’re going to be on third base in a couple of pitches. Taylor was excellent in throwing out base stealers in the district tournament.”

Ferriday plays its first game in the eight-team state tournament in Winnsboro, La., on Saturday.

They won’t find out what time they are playing or who their opponent is until Friday night.

Only the state champion advances to the World Series, which is taking place this year in Sumter, S.C.

“We know we have a bullseye on our back,” Horne said. “We’re only going to see the other team’s very best pitchers. We’re just going to have to bring our A game every day.”