Morgan County’s second-round playoff series win over Stephens County last week delivered a milestone moment for head coach Steve Westmoreland, as the Bulldogs’ dramatic Game 3 victory marked the 400th win of his coaching career.
The Bulldogs clinched the series unforgettably, rallying from a 3-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh inning before senior Davis Strickland delivered a walk-off grand slam, sending Morgan County to the Elite Eight.
The comeback capped a hard-fought series that began with a doubleheader the previous night. Morgan County dropped the opening game, 3-1, before responding with a 3-1 victory in the second contest to force a decisive Game 3.
For Westmoreland, the milestone win came in one of the most intense finishes of his career.
“It’s probably the most exciting win of the 400, and maybe the most unbelievable,” Westmoreland said. “But to win 400 games, you’ve got to have a lot of really good players and great assistant coaches. I’ve been blessed to have both.”
Trailing entering the final inning, the Bulldogs refused to fold. Morgan County pushed across three runs with two outs before Strickland’s grand slam completed the rally and sealed the series.
“We didn’t play our best, and Stephens County is a really good baseball team,” Westmoreland said. “At this point in the season, it’s just about staying alive — it doesn’t have to be pretty. When it mattered, our guys found a way to make plays.”
Westmoreland said he never lost confidence in his team’s ability at the plate and credited the players for staying composed in a pressure-packed moment.
“All the credit goes to them,” he said. “I think we finally relaxed a little and felt like we had nothing to lose, and that took some pressure off. We just found a way to make it work.”
Morgan County now advances to the Elite Eight, where it will face defending Class 2A state champion Rockmart in a May 6 doubleheader.
Westmoreland said the Bulldogs will focus on cleaning up offensive execution in practice, but he expects his team to carry momentum into the next round.
“I told them after the game, if there was any part of you that didn’t believe you could win a championship, you better start believing now,” he said. “It’s only going to get tougher, and at this point, anybody can beat anybody.”