Friends and supporters of the 2005 Demopolis state champion baseball team packed the Demopolis Civic Center for the annual baseball awards banquet Tuesday night. But annual event or not, the 2005 version was special as the team’s fans got to say one last good-bye to the senior class that brought home Demopolis’s first state title since 1986.

“There might never be a finer group here-one group, at one time,” said head baseball coach James Moody about the 2005 seniors, “than that one standing right there.”

Moody credited his team for their resiliency and congratulated them on their accomplishment.

“They amazed me how they never panicked,” he said. “I told them, “You are number one. You can stick your finger up in the air. You’ve earned it. You’re number one, and that’s something to be proud of.”

As a reward for their efforts, each member of the team was awarded a championship t-shirt, a certificate, and an impressive plaque bearing two team photos, an individual photo, the results of each playoff game, and a snapshot of the final championship scoreboard in Montgomery.

Perhaps most special of all, the championship earned each player the right to keep his game jersey in accordance with a mid-season promise made by Coach Moody. The jerseys were awarded along with the other memorabilia, despite Moody jokingly protesting that he couldn’t remember having ever made the promise in the first place.

Several players received individual awards as well. Devin Goodwin was named Most Valuable Pitcher, Bart Butler and Chad Schroeder each received a plaque for pitching a no-hitter during the season, and Seth Basinger and G.W. Washington were named team captains by a vote of the players.

Recognition at the banquet wasn’t only limited to the players, however. Moody received a standing ovation after having been recognized by DHS principal Ronald Roberts. Moody presented plaques to each of the assistant coaches present–Chris Wasson and Freddy Lawrence, with Mike Randall and Justin Barnes unable to attend–and thanked the Demopolis fans for their overwhelming and unwavering support.

“I walked up on the dugout steps [while DHS trailed during the championship game] and it was unbelievable the amount of noise you people were making. Just unbelievable,” Moody said. “That sums up all of it. The never-say-die attitude…that we’ll find a way to win.”

Also receiving recognition were the DHS junior varsity team; Glenn Basinger for his ten-year tenure as president of the DHS booster club; Bronze, Silver, and Gold sponsors of the DHS baseball Cage Club; team manager Albert Thomas; principal Roberts and Demopolis City Schools superintendent Wesley Hill.