The Morgan County Board of Education recently recognized the Morgan County baseball team for winning the first state championship in program history.
The recognition took place July 20 during the board's seventh regular meeting of the year.
To begin the brief ceremony, Diamond Dogs head coach Steve Westmoreland thanked the board for its support throughout the season and the players' high school careers.
"I want to thank Dr. Stancil and the board for their continued support throughout not just this season, but the entire careers of all these guys," Westmoreland said. "I recently spoke at the Kiwanis Club meeting, and one of the things I commented on was how our school system, through Dr. Stancil and the board, through our teachers and through our coaches, is aligned with the same goals and objectives. It's really made it a great place to work as a teacher and as a coach."
Morgan County finished the 2026 season with a 36-4 record, suffering just one loss during its postseason run. Westmoreland highlighted the accomplishments of the senior class, calling it one of the winningest groups in program history.
"This year's senior class graduated with 108 wins over four years, three region championships, one region runner-up finish, a Final Four appearance last year and, obviously, the program's first-ever state championship this year," Westmoreland said.
The recognition came roughly two months after the Diamond Dogs swept Pierce County on May 25 at Georgia Southern University to capture the GHSA Class 2A state title. Westmoreland described the championship series as an "eventful weekend" after multiple weather delays and a suspended game stretched the series over three days.
"We showed up on Saturday for our first game of what should have been a two-game series, played two innings and got rained out. We had to take the day off on Sunday," Westmoreland said. "We showed up at 9 a.m. Monday, and Game 2 finished at 11:15 that night. It was quite a long day, and it was mentally taxing for these guys."
Westmoreland credited his players for how they handled the unusual circumstances, saying the delays tested them both mentally and physically.
"A lot of that goes to the character of these kids, how they've been raised and how we've been able to prepare them throughout their careers," Westmoreland said. "They handled some things that, as coaches, we don't really want our kids to have to go through at that moment. We couldn't be prouder not only of winning the state championship, but of how our guys handled themselves through that long weekend. It was quite an experience.
"The bus ride home, the reception and the crowd in the parking lot really showed what this community is all about and how special Madison and Morgan County are."