The Morgan County baseball team dropped two out of three to region powerhouse Harlem High School in the last series of the regular season.
The Diamond Dogs fell to the Bulldogs of Harlem 9-5 last Tuesday after giving up five unanswered runs in the top of the seventh inning, but Morgan County was able to respond in the first game of the doubleheader last Friday, where it won 4-2 to tie the series up at 1-1.
Even though the team lost a close third game, head coach Merritt Ainslie acknowledged his team’s effort at the end of the season.
“Our boys really bounced back [from the Burke series] and fought hard,” Ainslie said. “We solidified our lineup pretty well going into Harlem. They’re always a perennial powerhouse, so it was good to see us compete and play well.”
The Diamond Dogs’ 6-5 loss wasn’t from the lack of ability at the plate or on the mound.
Pitching was a highlight for the Diamond Dogs in all three games, especially when Samuel Schofield got the start in the second contest. He pitched six innings and only allowed one run over that stretch.
With the postseason right around the corner, Ainslie believes the team has the right mentality after those performances.
“I think they understand that it’s a whole new season now, and if you’re going to make it deep in the playoffs, then you’re going to have to keep grinding,” Ainslie said, “I’m proud of them, and I think we have everything going for us heading into the playoffs.”
Morgan County heads into the weekend as the No. 3-seed out of Region 4-AAA. The Bulldogs will travel to Forysth and take on Mary Persons.
The two teams played a two-game series at the beginning of the season and split 1-1. Historically, the battle of the Bulldogs is around .500, meaning the first round of the state playoffs might extend into Saturday, where both teams will play a tie-breaker if neither team wins the first two.