In 2007, Phil Williams retired from the public schools after 30 years to become the baseball coach at
Landmark Christian (Fairburn), a private school south of Atlanta.
What he found was a program of only 21 players from JV through the varsity, and most of them were freshmen. But Williams had seen enough to know he had something special.
‘’I knew that there was a lot of talent there in that (ninth) grade,’’ said Williams, whose team is 25-1 this spring and ranked No. 1 in Georgia’s Class A entering the state playoffs. "It was just incredible, the work ethic they had. A lot of them played together in summer and fall ball. A lot of them grew up in the Landmark school. They’re a close bunch.’’
With three four-year starters and six three-year starters, Landmark could be on the brink of its first state title. It’s a school of only 227 high school students, but there's a high ratio of major college baseball talent.
Three have signed with Georgia Tech. Twins
Kyle Wren (.388, 46 runs scored as a leadoff hitter) and Colby Wren (.392, 11 HR) are among them. They are the sons of Atlanta Braves general manager Frank Wren. The third is pitcher Jonathan Roberts (8-1, 1.25 ERA). Williams notes that Roberts was 5-foot-10, 150 pounds, when he met him in ninth grade. Now, he’s 6-3, 200, and throwing over 90 mph. Roberts also is hitting .314 with eight home runs.
The fourth major signee is catcher
Blake Austin, who is headed to Auburn. He’s batting .500 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI. He leads the team in each of those categories. Austin and the Wren boys are four-year starters. Roberts, left fielder Seth Wessinger (.367-5-30) and second baseman Drew McDuffie (.415, signed with Berry College) are three-year starters.
The past two teams have reached the Class A finals. Landmark has never won it.
"When you get into the finals as sophomores, a lot of people thought, ‘Well, they’re lucky. They’d better enjoy it because they may not get to the championship series again,’ ‘’ Williams said. "But they were ahead of their time age-wise. This year, they’ve expected this run, knowing they're older. It would be huge if we could they could win it.’’
First-round matchups in the state playoffs begin Friday.
