The Morgan County softball team (18-8) took care of business in the first round of the state playoffs last week.
The No. 3 seed Spike Dogs swept No. 30 Tattnall County, winning 12-0 and 14-2 to advance to the next round.
“I was proud of them for making sure we did things the right way and for trying their best to play clean,” Morgan County head coach Chad Pigg said after the series. “When we did make mistakes, it was quickly rectified.”
Morgan County didn’t make many mistakes in the two-game series against the Lady Warriors. The Lady Dogs had an offensive explosion, outscoring Tattnall County 26-2, while their pitching was on point in the wins.
In both games, Morgan County took early big leads in the first inning, with each ending in a run-rule win.
At the plate, players such as Aziyah Robertson, Chandler Aaron, Payton Davis, Mark Faulkner, and Chandler Aaron made a difference. They were instrumental in helping the Lady Dogs build significant leads.
Kennedi Johnekins and Sydney Fischer also delivered strong performances in the circle.
Johnekins pitched four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and a walk while striking out two Tattnall County hitters in game one.
In game two, Fischer struck out eight Lady Warriors and gave up one hit, a two-run homer in four innings.
Pigg felt the momentum at the start of each game reflected the program’s culture.
“One of the things I was happy to see was that, once we got ahead big, I had girls advocating for others to get a chance to touch the field,” Pigg said. “So, that was just from a culture and team standpoint. I was proud.”
Ryleigh Hilsman, the team’s ace pitcher during the run to the state championship last season, even made an appearance. The senior missed the regular season because of injury, but got a chance to bat in the series last week.
Hilsman was happy to return to the field.
“It honestly feels amazing, and I'm obviously super grateful,” she said. “It sucked that I couldn't play for a long time, but now that I'm back, I feel so thankful to be on the field again, especially with all the girls. Every single at-bat I have, I know they're more than happy for me that I'm out here, so it definitely feels great.”
Next, Morgan County will host No. 14 Hart County for a chance to return to Columbus for a third straight year. The Lady Bulldogs of Hartwell swept No. 19 Franklin County, a region rival, to advance to the Sweet 16.
Pigg knows Hart County’s goal is to come to Madison and pull off the upset.
“I fully expect a good team to come in and want to end our season,” he said. “I'm expecting us to make sure that we try to do everything that we can do to put ourselves in a position to win, so throw strikes hard and make the routine play. I feel like we do a pretty good job of it in our preparation, so not much is going to change.”