Mar. 26—It was senior night at Austin High School on Tuesday, but by the end of the night, it was West Morgan that was celebrating.
The Rebels gave the Black Bears a sour end to their night of celebration, defeating Austin 12-8.
"Our resiliency was great tonight," said West Morgan head coach David McGuire. "It was a game of runs. We jumped on them, and then they came back, but in the last inning, we got some insurance runs and then shut them down on defense."
West Morgan did indeed jump on Austin early, scoring four runs in the first inning and building an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.
That's when Austin rallied, cutting the Rebels' lead to 8-5 going into the sixth and 9-8 going into the final inning.
Despite the comeback attempt, the West Morgan dugout didn't waiver.
"We started off hot, but we had some errors and things kind of got away from us," said West Morgan shortstop Colby Jones. "We knew we had to get it together. This group does well with overcoming adversity, and we showed that tonight."
Jones came up big for his team in the final inning, hitting a two-RBI double that put the Rebels three runs ahead.
He finished the game with three hits, three RBIs and four runs scored.
"That was big for me, but that never happens if two other guys don't get on base," Jones said.
Connor Rikard finished the game with a hit and four RBIs for West Morgan, while Bryant Jones led Austin with three RBIs.
For Austin, the loss continued a losing streak that has now reached eight games.
While proud of his team's rally, first-year coach Preston Porter said his team is still looking for that breakthrough mindset.
"We took advantage of some opportunities late and were able to make it a game, but a four-run head-start is hard to overcome," Potter said. "I think the way we played late is something we can build on, but we're on an eight-game (losing) streak right now, so we're struggling to keep that mindset we need at all times.
"We have to continue to just not play the scoreboard and take the game pitch-by-pitch — always ready to move on to the next play," he said.
— caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
