Please join us to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the Dunwoody High School Baseball – 2007 Georgia State Championship on Friday, March 10, 2017, at 5:30 p.m. (2007 alumni: please be at the field by 5-5:15 p.m.). We welcome and encourage other DHS Baseball alumni to come and join us at the field as well as current DHS players, family, friends, and the community to attend. After the ceremony, our 2017 Varsity Baseball team will face off against North Atlanta at 5:55 p.m.
Go Wildcats Baseball!
Memories of 2007
It is a true rarity being part of any team that is recognized as the “greatest ever”. For the 2007 Dunwoody State Championship baseball team, that is a label that still burns bright now on its 10th anniversary. Like any other championship season, it begins with those who came before, modeling and displaying the work ethic needed to be crowned a champion. This was so in 2006 when the Dunwoody Wildcats completed a tremendous state championship run but fell short losing in three games at state powerhouse Columbus High School. The team settled with a 3rd place state finish and a 30-5 record. It was this glimpse of the reality for a state championship that served as a motivating force for 2007.
After an off season of focused dedication and preparedness, the 2007 schedule began with one goal in mind- “ending it with a win”. The reality check of the difficulty to come was never more prevalent than in a 14-6 opening loss to Kennesaw Mountain. Yet, the Wildcats stayed the course and ran off 12 victories in a row which included wins over 2006 State Champion Blessed Trinity in an amazing come from behind victory and Nova High School the Florida 2004 and 2005 State Champs. Following a loss to Stoneman Douglas High School of Ft. Lauderdale (a team that started Chicago Cubs star Anthony Rizzo at 1st base), Dunwoody reeled off 16 more wins finding themselves into the state playoffs before taking another defeat.
Never were the concepts of “karma” and “things happen for a reason” more brought to light, until the 2007 Dunwoody Wildcats found themselves back in Columbus playing this time for a State Championship! The momentum shift was evident during pre-game batting practice when the Wildcats who carried a .382 team batting average with over 40 homeruns made the Columbus field a “launching pad” during the warm-up. In game one, senior David Port notched his 10th victory on the mound in a 7-5 decision. The greatest story to tell came before game two of the double header. Senior Clemson signee Chris Epps who was 15-0 on the mound and eventually the recipient of the State Pitcher of the Year, tweaked his back and minutes before the game was held out for a possible game three to be played the next day. As the umpires made their way to home plate, Junior Grant Hillis who led the team in homeruns with 10 but only had 13 innings logged all season on the mound, hurriedly got loose in the bullpen. The poetry of 2007 was written in his 6-0 shutout performance and the achievement of the title Greatest Dunwoody Baseball Team Ever was etched in the memories of all in attendance.
As Coach Tom Bass stated at the end of this amazing 2007 run, “by winning today, all those involved now possess bottled happiness. Whenever you are having a tough time the rest of your lives, take a moment and take a figurative sip and no matter how bad the day, you will have a smile on your face as you reminisce about this 2007 season”.
Now, ten years later, we will all be “taking a sip” on March 10th at 5:15!
