VIDALIA — The territory wasn’t unfamiliar, but that didn’t make it any less unsettling for the Vidalia Americans 9- and 10-year-old All-Stars Monday night.

Fresh off the heels of a no-hitter by Skylar Boyler the night before, the Americans got up early 11-3 on the Avoyelles Americans in the Louisiana Little League Softball District 3 Tournament. But a rough fourth inning for Vidalia caused that lead to shrink to just one run.

Instead of letting it get them down, however, the Vidalia Americans added more runs to their cause and held on for a 16-13 win, forcing a championship match with Avoyelles tonight.

“The bottom line is, we got a big lead, and I think we just kind of slacked off a little bit and let them back in,” Vidalia coach Rudy Wilson said about his team’s fourth-inning troubles.

“But as they have all along, they buckled down and got the win with their backs against the wall.”

Avoyelles scored three early runs in the top of the first inning. Mallory Smith came home on a fielder’s choice, and Kennedy Dauzat crossed home plate after Vidalia catcher Regan Frederick accidently threw the ball into center field trying to get Dauzat out at second. Jensen Gremillion also scored on a fielder’s choice.

Vidalia cut the lead 3-1 in the bottom half of the frame when Savanna Spear came in on a passed ball.

The Vidalia Americans finally got the lead with a big second inning. Sara Cockerham got things started for Vidalia by scoring on a passed ball, and a bases-loaded walk by Shelbi Cross scored Frederick. A double by Spear scored Tiauna Haney and Andy Gray, and a double by Carly Delaney sent home three more runs. Vidalia led 8-3 after two.

Singles by Cross, Boyler and Delaney plated three more runs in the bottom of the third for Vidalia, extending its lead to 11-3. But the Vidalia Americans struggled to get outs in the top of the fourth, which let Avoyelles back in the game.

Gremillion scored Avoyelles’ first run in the fourth on a fielder’s choice, and Madison Juneau scored on a single by Chloe Dauzat. A passed ball allowed Bianca Redmon-Munoz to score, and Dauzat came home on a fielder’s choice. This forced Cockerham to replace Spear as pitcher, but three more runs would score for Avoyelles, making it 11-10 Vidalia after four.

A double by Cross in the bottom of the fourth gave the Vidalia Americans a little bit of a cushion, sending home Frederick and Mattie Pintard and making it 13-10 Vidalia.

Cockerham was pulled for Gray in the top of the fifth after Cockerham allowed the first two Avoyelles batters to reach base. Two more runs would score for Avoyelles, again cutting the lead to one.

But Vidalia pulled away for good in the bottom of the fifth, when Boyler and Delaney scoring on a passed ball and Frederick coming home on a single by Pintard.

One more run scored for Avoyelles in the top of the sixth before Gray and the Vidalia Americans shut the door.

“We’ve still got one more to go,” Wilson said. “We got in the loser’s bracket from the start, but they hung in there and fought back.”

Vidalia and Avoyelles will face off one last time at 6 p.m. today to decide the district champion.