Suwannee’s 12 and under All-Stars had to take the long road to win the championship. They lost their first game and dropped into the loser’s bracket. The girls fought back and won the district championship.

The tournament was held in Bronson Thursday, June 17. The 12 and under All-Stars lost their first game to Tri-County by one run. This put them in the loser’s bracket. The girls had to wait until Friday to play their next game.



Friday, the team battled back to beat Madison. This game was a back-and-forth nail-biter with Suwannee winning by one run 21-20.



With only 30 minutes to prepare for their next game, the 12 and under Stars headed into the final game in the loser’s bracket for the Stars against Chiefland. Suwannee dominated throughout the game, never giving up the lead through six innings. They defeated Chiefland 12-9.



After taking out Chiefland, the Stars prepared to battle Tri-County again. They had to wait until the next day of the tournament, Saturday. It looked like it might be a double header. They knew they had their work cut out for them. It would be hard enough to beat Tri-County once, let alone twice.

The Stars dominated Tri-County, winning after six innings 11-7. The victory over Tri-County sent them into the championship game once again against Tri-County.



It was hot, over 90 degrees, but the Stars took an immediate lead over Tri-County of 10 runs. But Tri-County came back and took a one-run lead in the fourth inning.



Because the Stars had drawn the visiting team status, they knew they had until the top of the sixth to win the game. They did just that, scoring two runs to take back the lead. With the score 22-21 Suwannee, the Tri-County All-Stars put runners on base. But when a Tri-County runner tried to score off a passed ball, Suwannee catcher Dee Sardina tackled the runner at home plate and made the out. On yet another passed ball, Sardina caught the ball off the backstop and stuffed another Tri-County player for the second out of the inning. With two outs, pitcher Dale Townsend, struck out the last Tri-County batter for the win. The Suwannee 12-and under All-Stars played over 7 hours in a row on Friday and Saturday to win the championship.



“As the manager of the Suwannee Stars 12 and Under District Four Champions for 2004, I would like to express that all 14 players on this team displayed the utmost respect, discipline and heart that I have ever seen as a 12 and under coach,” said Jeff Mowrey. “I would also like to thank Gail Kicklighter and Coach Scott Stevens. I would like to thank everyone for your support.”Hollan Abercrombie was presented the game ball for her gutsy base running in the tournament. Malynn Mowrey was the starting pitcher in the Tri County game and did an excellent job. Shannon Kicklighter pitched in the game against Madison with Dale Towsend brought in as a closer for the win. Marshanna Boyette slid in at home for the go ahead run in the Madison game . Kim Gay had some big hits when they were really needed. Malynn Mowrey pitched against Chiefland with one of her strongest performances to date. Dale Townsend pitched a great game against Tri County and Natasha Clark hit a grand slam on the way to the championship game. Chelsea Waters made several excellent catches in right field off some hard hit line drives. Dee Sardina showed true grit at her first outing as catcher in All-Star Play . Haley Hunt made a gutsy throw home to Dee Sardina who made the second out in the last inning of the championship game (the run would have tied the game) and then Dale Townsend struck out the last batter for the victory. Teamwork was key in these very close and exciting games.