T.J. Davis escaped the questions throughout the season, hopping in a golf car after home games to drag the infield and blending with fans and coaches after road games.

His tenure as Panthers baseball coach had started with questions in the spring of 2008.

What's the status? What have you heard?

To wait, he said. To wait on the response from Georgia's all-time winngingest coach, Gerald Barnes of Westside, who was offered the Panthers' job first.

Barnes' name was slapped on the field at Westside soon after. He stayed at Westside, and Lakeside chased Davis, who needed no persuading.

The young former assistant inherited Lakeside's 12 seniors, solid assortment of underclassmen and a cast of supporting coaches.

Davis is The Augusta Chronicle baseball c oach of the year for leading that group to its first region title in 13 years, and for helping transform fans' attitudes during the Panthers' run to the Class AAAA quarterfinals.

"Really, we're fortunate," Davis said after players and coaches conspired to shower him with ice when the Panthers clinched Region 3-AAAA. "We had a lot of returners who came back, and guys who knew what was expected."

Davis played four years at Evans High and later at Montreat (N.C.) College. He was the head baseball coach at Columbia Middle before joining Lakeside's staff as an assistant.

He got the job he wanted, heading a program in the county he grew up playing. It wasn't his alma mater, Evans, owner of five state baseball titles. It wasn't Harlem or Greenbrier, both of which also claim five state baseball titles.

Lakeside fit Davis -- relaxed expectations with a load of talent to start.

He set the Panthers goal as the Class AAAA state title and below that a state playoff berth and a region title.

Davis came closer to the hat trick than he probably thought.

The Panthers bested Barnes' Patriots and Jimmie Lewis's Harlem squad. They slipped past charging Evans, too.

Lakeside played at home through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Its quarterfinal opponent was Marist, where the run ended.