Morgan County advances to Columbus for the first time in seven years
After Morgan County softball defeated Calvary Day 8-0 on Monday, assistant coach Jason McBay told the players one more win would send them back to Columbus for the first time since 2016.
Well, he was right.
The Lady ‘Dogs handled business against No. 2 seed Peach County, coming out on top 9-1 on Tuesday afternoon. The victory over the Lady Trojans marked their third consecutive mercy-rule win.
“I have to give all the credit to this group of girls. They’ve rallied around everything we’ve been talking about since day one,” Morgan County head coach Chad Pigg said. “I don’t think I have been around a group of girls that love each other and are pulling for each other as much as they do in the [tough] moments. They absolutely get after it and it's obvious. I think our biggest attribute is that we’re always playing for somebody else. They’re always playing for someone on our team.”
In the regional, Morgan put together three impressive performances, with wins over Dougherty, Calvary Day and Peach County. The Lady Dogs outscored their opponent 31-2 over the two days. They also only trailed once and it didn't last an entire inning.
A lot of Morgan’s success in the regional was because of pitcher Ryleigh Hilsman, who only gave up one run in two games. The sophomore right-hander struck out 14 batters and gave up zero walks.
“She’s an absolute dog in the circle. She has grit, unlike anybody I’ve ever coached,” Pigg said of Hilsman. “She wants it as bad as anyone I’ve ever coached. I got to see a little bit of fire out of her today and she doesn’t show it a lot. She normally doesn’t get too high or too low. She usually stays middle ground. Today in the first inning [against Peach County] that girl slid into home and gave her the shoulder. And Ryleigh didn’t back down and that really fueled her today. We got to see a fun, serious side of her after that. She was then locked in every pitch just like in the Harlem series.”
Junior Jaleigh Harper also contributed in the circle during game one. She was solid against Dougherty, giving up one hit and zero runs with four strikeouts. Harper also didn't give up any walks.
“Jaleigh was solid as well in her outing. She threw constant strikes, shutting down Dougherty,” Pigg said. “I also wanted to shout out Brooklyn Mims, who held it down for us behind the plate. She does a really good job of staying with our pitchers, especially Ryleigh. The two have a good connection. Ryleigh has confidence in all of her pitches because Brooklyn is back there. They’re a great duo.”
Offensively, Hilsman, Harper, Emmy Moss, Anna Kate Hill, Payton Davis and Mallory Martin were all hot. The Lady Dogs bats were alive over the two-day regional, totaling 19 hits in three games.
During game three against Peach County, three players – Martin, Hill, and Harper – had multi-hit performances. Martin also was a double away from hitting for the cycle against the Lady Trojans.
“We hit it consistently, really putting the ball in play,” Pigg said. "I could talk about every single girl because each one made an impact, but we’d be here for a while. I am just really proud of this group.”
Morgan punched its ticket to the double-elimination tournament next week. The Lady Dogs join Jackson, Wesleyan, Pickens County, Harlem, Gordon-Lee, Pike County and Hebron Christian in Columbus.
In his first season, Pigg helped lead Morgan County back to Columbus for the first time in seven years. However, he credits all the former players and coaches who laid the groundwork before him.
Now, Pigg wants his players to keep the momentum going as his team has accomplished another goal.
“It’s not easy making it to Columbus and getting in,” Pigg said. “The big thing about it is everybody always talks about just getting there. Just do it and then anything can happen. I know some people have counted us out all year and not given us much credit, which is fantastic. I told the girls this is exactly where we want to be. We’re going to play our game and then see what happens.”