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Little League

Pressure's on Dade City

As the seniors prepare for state, they remember last year's team that won four titles.

By STEVE LEE
Published July 29, 2005

DADE CITY - Most of the Dade City senior baseball team's roster has changed, but - so far - not the results.

For the second straight season, Dade City has yet to lose through two rounds.

Last season, the 15-16 age group became the city's first all-star team to win four titles and advance to a World Series. The current squad has repeated as district and sectional champions.

Next up: the state tournament, beginning Saturday in Fort Lauderdale.

"Those are some big shoes to fill, but our feet are growing," Dade City manager Geoff Wells said. "We're kind of in a big shadow. We've got to go down and win states."

Winning is all this team has done. Dade City went 3-0 en route to a District 25 championship and last week won twice for a Section 4 title. Dade City hosted the sectionals, defeating Plant City 8-1 before a 9-4 win over Bloomingdale in eight innings.

In the latter contest, Dade City snapped a tie at 4 with five runs in the top of the eighth. Dustin Brown's RBI double and a two-run single by Reyes Perez highlighted that inning.

"We exploded," Wells said. "We're a better hitting team than what we showed during that game."

Four runs through seven innings marked the lowest output of the playoffs for what has been a high-powered offense. Dade City outscored teams 36-5 in the district series before an eight-run outburst against Plant City.

While Dade City has had its share of clutch hits, the long ball also has been a factor. The team has six home runs in five games. Brown has two, with Quinten Jones, Dakota Parker, Perez and Matt Wells, the manager's son, each hitting one.

Jones and Perez had home runs against Bloomingdale, and Wells hit a two-run homer in a five-run first against Plant City.

"That really set the stage for us," Wells said of his son's blast.

Matt Wells had Dade City's only home runs - three - in the regular season.

Aaron Brandt earned the win on the mound against Dade City and Jeremy Johnson pitched three innings of scoreless relief for the decision against Bloomingdale, giving Johnson a 2-0 playoff record.

Pitchers Brown (1-0) and Justin Johnson (2-0), Jeremy's brother, have Dade City's other playoff wins.

[Last modified July 29, 2005, 00:51:17]