Morgan County’s baseball team faced Callaway last week for its final region series of the season.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in Class AA, swept the Cavaliers to clinch their second straight region championship.
With the series win, Morgan County finished region play a perfect 15-0 and enters this week at 24-2 overall.
Head coach Steve Westmoreland said entering the series, his team knew it would be one of its toughest matchups of the season.
“We knew Callaway had a really good team, and they pitched extremely well. They did a really good job changing speeds and making it difficult on the hitters,” Westmoreland said. “We didn’t play particularly well on Thursday at Callaway, but did enough to find a way to win the game, which was important.”
The Dogs opened the series with a 10-7 win but had to battle back after a slow start. They trailed 3-1 in the third inning before scoring eight runs over the next two frames to take control.
Morgan County then carried that momentum into the next day’s doubleheader, winning 7-1 in Game 1 and 14-11 in Game 2 to complete the sweep.
The Bulldogs delivered consistent offensive production throughout the series, highlighted by a 14-run outburst in the highest-scoring game. Morgan County collected 12 hits and drew seven walks in that contest, with multiple players contributing at the plate.
Senior Ty Tillery finished with three RBIs and two hits, while Gavin Hunt and Jack Whitlow each added two hits and RBIs. The Bulldogs also hit two home runs in the game to help fuel the offense.
Across all three games, Morgan County totaled 31 runs and recorded at least 10 hits in each contest. The Bulldogs posted 11 hits in the 10–7 win and 10 hits in the 7–1 victory.
Senior Caylem Richardson drove in five RBIs in the opening game, while Drew Ainslie and Jack Whitlow also contributed multiple hits during the series.
Westmoreland said despite the challenges in the opener, his team showed “a lot of fortitude” in finishing the sweep.
“Callaway just kind of stuck with what we do well and kept plugging away. They know that we’re a good baseball team, and Callaway climbed back in as good teams do,” Westmoreland said. “Every time they scored, we answered, and it wasn’t pretty in the end, with the last three innings, but a win’s a win, and we were happy to get out of there with it.”
With the regular season winding down, Westmoreland said he has seen major growth from his team and hopes to see continued improvement heading into the postseason.
“We’ve actually walked more than we struck out this year, and we’ve got nine guys in the lineup that can really swing the bat at any given time,” Westmoreland said. “Defensively, we’ve made strides on the infield that continue to get better. We’ll continue to work on that, along with controlling the run game.”
Overall, Westmoreland said he is extremely proud of his team for securing a second straight region championship, with the senior class earning the third region title of their careers.
“They trust what we’re doing as a coaching staff and just continue to get better,” Westmoreland said. “We’re extremely proud of this accomplishment, and it kind of sets us up for a good playoff seed. Hopefully, the bracket will work out to our advantage, and we can make another deep run this year.”
On Monday, Morgan County defeated LaGrange 12-2, improving to 25-2 overall. The Bulldogs will then close out the regular season later this week with a home-and-home series against Oconee County.