Gordon Lee aiming to defend state championship
After 34 years of close calls and tough playoffs exits, the Gordon Lee Trojans finally returned to the summit of Georgia high school baseball last spring.
The Trojans won their first state baseball title since 1984 (their third overall) by going 8-0 and steamrolling through the Class 1A Public School tournament. They took down Clinch County, Charlton County, Bowdon and Telfair County by a combined 63-5, including five shutouts in eight games.
And while there was a long period of celebration in the Chickamauga community, the thrill of winning it all was a bit shorter for head coach Mike Dunfee.
“Last year was awesome and a lot of fun,” he said. “I was super excited when we won it. I was really excited for that team, those kids, their families and the whole community.
“But about 30 seconds after we won it, I was really kind of mad because it was over. It was so much fun and the kids were really playing well and together as a team and then, suddenly, it was over. I really wish there had been more games we could have played.”
But nine months have passed since the final out was recorded in Savannah and an entire new slate of games is just around the corner, beginning next Tues- day (Jan. 12) at Dade County.
“It’s time to start playing ball again and that’s the big thing,” Dunfee continued. “We just have to get them wanting more and wanting to compete again. We’ve got a good senior group, who are a great group of leaders and a great bunch of kids. Since we’re still in preseason practice, we really don’t know what we have yet. You really don’t establish your identity as a team until about 10 games into the season when you start figuring it out, but that gives a lot of kids a chance to do some things early.”
That senior class includes catcher Chris Potter, third baseman/pitcher Hunter Hodson, first baseman/pitcher Logan Streetman and outfielders Justin Wooden and Braxton Ledford, who have com- bined to log plenty of innings in the past three seasons.
A small junior class features three veterans in shortstop J.D. Day, second baseman Will Sizemore and utility player Jake Wright. Sizemore and Wright will also see time on the mound, while Wright was selected as a second team AllState performer last year.
A large group of sophomores is anchored by another second- team All-State performer in pitcher Jake Poindexter, who recently committed to University of Georgia. The rest of the class includes outfielders Cade Peterson and Griffin Collins, infielder Jacob Neal, corner infielders Cody Thomas, Jackson Moore and Dylan Burnett, utility player Brody Cobb and backup catcher Parker Salmon. Cobb will also do some catching, while Moore and Burnett could also see their share of innings on the mound.
Derek McDaniel, Zack Cobb and Zach Barnes will be back as assistant coaches, while the new face on the bench this year will be Thomas Gray.
Dunfee said the key to this season is for his players to get hungry and humble once again.
“They have to get better every day,” said Dunfee, who was named the 2018 Class 1A Public School Coach of the Year by the Georgia Dugout Club. “If they continue to get better, progress and get hot at the right time, we’ve got a shot (to repeat).
“I don’t think we feel much pressure. If our preparation is where it needs to be and we’re doing the right things in practice to prepare ourselves, then that should eliminate some of the pressure. We have a good coaching staff. They did a great job last year and hopefully we can get them ready again.”