FERRIDAY — After a third-place finish in the World Series last year, expectations are once again high for the Ferriday Dixie Youth 15-and-under Fast-Pitch All-Star Team.

The team, led by head coach Rut Horne, is the defending Louisiana state champion.

“We have girls on our All-Star team in which all the schools are represented — Franklin County, Cathedral, ACCS, Vidalia and Monterey,” assistant coach Charles Devening said.

“All the way to the World Series (is what we expect). About half of our team is returning from the team that made it to the World Series last year. We made it to the third round last year, and we expect to do as good, if not better.”

The players on the team are Ellen Bairnsfather, Mollie and Kimble Devening, Ginny Daggett, Allison Hauer, KiKi Collins, Savannah and Lindsey Johnston, Taylor Morace, Caitlan Melton, Kennedy Beard and Laura Perilloux.

The pitchers will be Mollie Devening, Lindsey Johnston, Bairnsfather, Daggett, and Perilloux.

“Our pitching is as good, if not better, than it was last year,” Charles Devening said. “The girls that are replacing the girls that are too old are as good as those we had last year.”

“We had a couple of practices and we played a practice game Thursday against a 15-year-old All-Star team from Caldwell Parish. We split the two games. They won the first game and we won the second game.”

The Ferriday Dixie Youth 15-and-under All-Star Team will play in its first tournament of the season on the Fourth of July weekend, which will be a district tournament that will take place in Jonesville.

Joe Bairnsfather is also an assistant coach on the team.