MONTGOMERY – It took just one swing of the bat for Demopolis catcher Seth Basinger to send his teammates and coaches into a frenzy as he smoked a homerun deep over the left field wall at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery to give DHS their second state title of the year and the school’s second overall baseball title.

With Basinger’s solo-shot in the bottom of the eighth inning on Saturday night, the Demopolis Tigers clinched the 2005 AHSAA 4A state title by knocking off Jacksonville, 10-9 in game three.

“Unbelievable,” DHS assistant coach Freddy Lawrence said.

“Basinger has been big all year and he’s hit a homerun in every series.

He didn’t have one in this series until now on a walk-off.

Just unbelievable.

Everybody on the team had to play and we got it done.

It’s just unbelievable.”

Unbelievable is probably the best words to describe the blast by Basinger with two away in the eighth inning.

After struggling to maintain their lead, DHS came back to plate four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to deadlock the game at 9-9.

And the score remained the same until Basinger sent a message to the Golden Eagles with a homer that easily cleared the left field fence at Riverwalk Stadium, traveling an estimated distance of 400 feet.

“We found a way to win,” DHS head coach James Moody said.

“We did not play very well.

We made some big plays, but overall we didn’t really play very well and that’s two out of three in the finals and still find a way to win and I think that’s a tribute to the kids.

And what better script to end something than like that.”

Friday night’s script in game one wasn’t much different, but this time it was all on the DHS pitchers.

In game one against Jacksonville, it took Demopolis relief pitcher William Meador just eight pitches to shut the door on a Golden Eagles comeback.

DHS starting pitcher Devin Goodwin threw 123 pitches in game one before coach Moody opted for Meador to come into close out the game.

And Meador did just that, allowing one walk while striking out one to preserve an 8-7 Demopolis game one victory.

In game two, DHS fell 6-3 in a game most Tigers fans will soon forget and replace it with the sparkling memory of Basinger’s blast that brought home a second title for Demopolis after the football team picked up the state title just a few shorts months ago.

Basinger was named the championship MVP as coaches and players alike for Demopolis had a hard time controlling their emotions after a more-than-exciting series with Jacksonville.

With the series win, Demopolis has now brought home the blue map in both baseball and football this year – giving the school back-to-backs as the Tigers aim for future success in their athletic program.

Congratulations to all the coaches, players, trainers, and assistants on making the 2005 baseball season a successful one.