Central Whidbey’s 11 and 12-year-old Little League All-Stars opened their District 11 tournament Tuesday evening at Skagit River Park in Burlington with a 5-3 victory over Arlington.

Starting pitcher Korbin Kozan had a good outing on the mound and was backed up by relief pitcher Aaron Curtin, Ben Etzell and closer Ty Deckwa.

Etzell also came through at the plate and stroked a two-run homer for Central Whidbey.

Jake Tumblin had a solo blast to help pace the offense.

Defense was once again a strong point for Central Whidbey and the team showed great fundamentals, turning in a timely double play to choke off a potential Arlington rally late in the game.

Coached by Scott Deckwa and Chris Tumblin, other members of the Central Whidbey team are: Brendan Ameluxen-Coleman, Joe Magee, Brian Norris, Morgan Payne, and Kurtis Smith.

Coming back Wednesday against the South Skagit Nationals, Central Whidbey lost 5-1 to drop down into the tournament’s losers bracket.

Central Whidbey played North Whidbey, which was a 7-6 winner over the South Skagit Americans Thursday evening, in a 6 p.m. game Friday night.

The winner of that game advances in the losers bracket to face the winner of the Arlington/Bellingham matchup in a 1 p.m. game at Skagit River Park today.