After seeing its 20-game winning streak snapped in a 2-1 midweek loss to Oconee County on April 15, the Morgan County baseball team responded exactly how head coach Steve Westmoreland hoped it would.
The Bulldogs bounced back in emphatic fashion, defeating the Warriors 8-1 in the series finale on April 17 and using the setback as an opportunity to sharpen their focus heading into the postseason.
Westmoreland said the loss served as a valuable reminder of the level of execution required in playoff baseball.
“I think you’ve got to tip your cap to Oconee,” Westmoreland said. “They’ve got a really good team, and the kid on the mound (in Game 1) was fantastic.”
Morgan County had opportunities early in the first game, putting pressure on Oconee’s starter through the first three innings, but failed to capitalize.
“We left four or five runners in scoring position, and he was at about 57 pitches through three innings, so we felt pretty good about where we were,” Westmoreland said. “Then he got really good in the last four innings.”
The Bulldogs also made costly defensive mistakes late in the game, leading the Warriors to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Westmoreland said those mistakes proved costly against a quality opponent.
“When you play good teams, if you don’t play clean defensively and you miss opportunities offensively, you get beat,” Westmoreland said.
Though losing after such a dominant stretch was disappointing, Westmoreland said he believes the defeat may ultimately help his team in the long run.
“It was kind of a good opportunity to refocus a little bit after a long winning streak,” he said.
That renewed focus is especially important for Morgan County’s senior class, a group that has steadily advanced deeper into the playoffs each season and now has its sights set on the program’s first state championship.
“There’s one more step for us to take,” Westmoreland said. “We’ve talked about the progress they’ve made from year to year, but we didn’t play our best baseball in the playoffs last year, and it ultimately got us beat.”
Morgan County (26-3) enters the postseason aware that the road ahead won’t be easy. Westmoreland noted that the Bulldogs, the No. 2 seed in Class 2A, landed on a difficult side of the bracket and will need to be at their best to keep advancing.
“We know if we get through the first round, we’re going to have some really good baseball teams in front of us,” he said. “We’re going to have to play well to continue to advance.”
Still, he feels better about where his team stands now than it did at this point a year ago.
“I feel a little bit better about where we are right now than where we were last year,” he said. “We just have to continue to get better, have a good week of practice, and stay healthy.”
What may separate this Morgan County team from previous postseason squads is the leadership emerging from within the roster.
Westmoreland said seniors like Ty Tillery and Hudson Reed have taken on greater leadership roles, creating a stronger player-led mentality than in years past.
The team will also rely on other seniors, including Drew Ainslie, Eli Whitlow, Jack Whitlow, Davis Strickland, and Caylem Richardson in the postseason.
“I think there is a little bit more sense of urgency from some of our guys, especially the senior class, who understand this is it,” Westmoreland said. “Some of the guys that are our better players are now becoming some of our better leaders.”
That urgency has fueled a team determined to accomplish something no Morgan County baseball team has done before: win a state championship.
“These guys have really worked hard,” Westmoreland said. “They want to continue to try to do something that’s never been done at Morgan County.”