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Dade City all-stars cover new postseason territory

By STEVE LEE
Published July 20, 2006

DADE CITY - Having gone farther than any 9-10 baseball all-star Little League team from Dade City, this year's squad aims to extend a record-breaking season.

Dade City won District 25 and Section 4 championships and is unbeaten in the postseason. The team begins play today in the state tournament at Kissimmee. Dade City plays Fort Pierce American at 6 p.m.

Dade City (6-0) went 4-0 in the district series at Lutz before winning twice in sectionals at East Bay. The team has outscored opponents 67-27 thanks to a high-powered offense featuring seven batters - Lane Stancil, Clint Tedder, C.J. Brown, Derek Dious, Blaine Duncan, Robbie Hanlon and Trent Shoupe - hitting .300 or better.

"I've got a phenomenal group of hitters," manager Joey Tedder said. "We're a contact-hitting team. We preach, 'You make contact.' "

Dade City defeated New Tampa 13-5 for the district title and South Brandon 8-6 for the sectional crown.

Brandon Ray, who tossed a no-hitter in a 12-0 district win over Land O'Lakes American, anchors a deep pitching staff that includes Dious, Brown, Stancil and Tedder.

Rounding out the team are Eli Mosca, Malik Johns, John Flattley, Austin Ladd and Tyree Austin.

ULTIMATE TEAM: Florida Ultimate Gold, a travel softball team that includes a trio of county All-Sunshine Athletic Conference players including reigning all-SAC and Times player of the year Jessica Birchmeier, is on a roll.

Ultimate Gold went 4-1-1 in last month's College Showcase at Columbia, S.C. Since the program's inception in 2002, the team of 15- to 18-year-olds is 205-51-13.

"We are one of the premier teams in the state," said founder and manager Tom Stager, who previously organized the Suncoast Outlaws, a team of primarily county players.

"People want to get on our team. I probably get a dozen calls a month with girls wanting to join our team."

Among the local players are Birchmeier, a 2006 Ridgewood grad who signed with Francis Marion, a Division II school in Florence, S.C.; the Stager sisters, Tom's daughters and standout ballplayers at Mitchell; and Land O'Lakes teammates Jessica Martinieri and Alexis Aubuchon.

In the Columbia, S.C., series, the five county players were key contributors at the plate.

Courtney Stager batted .563 with a home run and five RBIs. Ashley Stager hit .550 with two homers and seven RBIs.

Birchmeier, who hit a school-record five homers at Ridgewood, batted .400 with four RBIs in the College Showcase. Aubuchon averaged .467 with two doubles and four RBIs, and Martinieri hit .357, including her first homer of the season, and drove in three runs.

Send Little League results to Steve Lee. Call (813) 909-4607 or e-mail lee@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 19, 2006, 22:12:10]