Morgan County punched its ticket to the Class 2A state championship series on May 14, sweeping Franklin County in the Final Four to secure the program’s first-ever championship appearance.
After falling to the Lions in last season’s Final Four, the Dogs got their revenge this year, winning 6-4 and 3-1 to advance.
“This is the first time we’ve moved past the semis, and it’s awesome; I’ve been coaching for 25 years and had some opportunities that didn’t work out,” Morgan County head coach Steve Westmoreland said. “It’s a long time coming for these kids and me. They’ve been dreaming about this since they were seven and eight.”
Westmoreland said he is pleased with the series win but still sees several areas the team can improve before the championship round. He added that his players have done well at “surviving and moving on” throughout the postseason, which he believes is critical at this stage of the playoffs.
“We’ve kind of been able to move past the mistakes, and maybe that’s a sign of maturity, being a little bit more comfortable in the playoffs,” Westmoreland said. “We’re proud of them, and hopefully we can get a good week of practice and have a good series in Statesboro.”
Morgan County senior pitchers Ty Tillery and Caylem Richardson limited Franklin County to five total runs across the two-game series. Tillery pitched all seven innings in the Dogs’ 6-4 victory in Game 1, recording eight strikeouts while allowing five hits and two earned runs.
Richardson followed with another complete-game effort in Game 2, only allowing one run on one hit while recording four strikeouts in Morgan County’s 3-1 win.
In the opening game, Hudson Reed and Richardson each hit home runs in the fifth inning, while Drew Ainslie went 3-for-3 with one RBI in the 6-4 victory. Junior Gavin Hunt, Reed, and Ainslie each scored runs to help cap the 3-1 win in Game 2.
Westmoreland said he believes his players entered the series with extra motivation after their Final Four loss to Franklin County a season ago.
“I think they really wanted this win, and we all felt like we didn’t play well against Franklin last year,” Westmoreland said. “Franklin played extremely well last time, and they deserved to win the series. It was nice to move past that disappointment from last year and get a win against them this time.”
Morgan County, the No. 2 overall seed, will face top-seed Pierce County at Georgia Southern University’s J.I. Clements Stadium on May 23 for a doubleheader. Game 3 will be played on May 25 if necessary.
Westmoreland said the Bulldogs still need to make offensive adjustments before facing the Bears. He added that the team will be in a good position if its pitching staff continues performing at a high level.
“We still have to get some guys healthy, and then offensively, we’ve got to do a better job with runners in scoring position,” Westmoreland said. “If we can do that offensively, get more runs on the board, and the pitchers continue to do what they’re doing, then we’ll be in good shape next week.”