The Morgan County baseball team has made a strong statement to start the 2026 season, sitting at 6-2 entering this week after a challenging early schedule.
Facing tough non-region opponents, the Dogs, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, have relied on a balanced mix of pitching and timely hitting to stay competitive.
Morgan County head coach Steve Westmoreland is optimistic about what lies ahead.
“Overall, we’re really pleased with how we’ve pitched,” Westmoreland said. “Our three starters— Ty Tillery, David Strickland, and Caylem Richardson—have been, with the exception of our game against Newnan, extremely consistent. In seven of our eight games, we’ve gotten really good quality starts. Everything starts with us on the mound, and those guys have done a fantastic job so far.”
Morgan County’s pitching depth was tested in a recent tournament, which proved to be both challenging and instructive.
After dropping a 6-2 decision to Newnan, the Dogs bounced back that same night with a 9-3 victory over Central (Phenix City), a strong 7A Alabama program.
Strickland led the way, allowing just two hits.
The following day, Morgan County split its games, falling 2-1 to Bishop Snyder, one of Florida’s top programs, before narrowly defeating Lambert, a Class 6A school from Georgia, 4-3 to close out the tournament.
“We played Bishop Snyder out of Jacksonville at 10 a.m. on Saturday,” Westmoreland said. “We lost a really tight game with Ty Tillery on the mound. They had their Tennessee commit pitching, and it was just a well-played game by both sides. We then salvaged the weekend with a win against Lambert, a tough 7A Georgia school. We were down most of the game and came back to win it late, which was a really good sign of resilience.”
While pitching has been a strength, Westmoreland expressed that the offense is steadily improving.
“We’re doing enough at the plate right now,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve really reached our full level of ability offensively yet. Some guys who are really good hitters for us haven’t quite gotten hot, which is kind of the opposite of last year when we got off to a hot start offensively. This year, as the pitching has gotten better, the offense is doing just enough.”
Several players, however, have already stood out.
“Hudson Reed is swinging the bat extremely well,” Westmoreland said. “He’s sitting around .520 with four home runs. Ty Tillery, Brody O’Neal, and Drew Ainsley are also hitting well, and we’ve got some guys finding ways on base. The more bats we get going, the better our offense will be.”
After a demanding, road-heavy start to the season — with Morgan County playing its first eight games away from home — the team will finally return to its field for a home matchup against Greenbrier on Thursday. The Dogs will then head back to Greenbrier on Friday before beginning region play next week against Westside-Macon, with additional non-region matchups against West Laurens and Oconee County also on the schedule.
“We have things to clean up defensively, and we want to continue improving offensively,” Westmoreland said. “But I’m excited about where we are right now. The foundation is strong, and we’re building momentum at the right time.”