It took renewing an old rivalry to get the Morgan Academy bats going.

The Senators struggled at the plate Monday against No. 1 ranked Macon East but had no problems Tuesday against city rival Meadowview Christian in a dominant 16-0 victory.

Morgan started the afternoon with a two-hour batting practice at the school before making the short trip to Meadowview. Whatever the Senators did worked, as the entire lineup played a part in Tuesday’s win. A team that struggled to only two hits against the Knights Monday struck out only once Tuesday.

“I think that batting practice and getting serious really helped a lot,” said Morgan Academy head coach Ed Miller. “We started making better pitch selection and hitting the ball hard.”

Morgan scored seven runs in the first inning to give pitcher Margaret Mims plenty of breathing room. Mims did the rest, keeping Meadowview from posing a serious scoring threat the entire game.

“Morgan is probably the fastest pitching we’ve seen all year,” said Meadowview Christian coach Cherie Grimes.

The game didn’t count for either side. Instead it served as a late season tune-up for both teams, as they pursue state championships in their respected associations.

Morgan is headed for the Alabama Independent School Association class 3A, region 2 tournament Thursday in Montgomery at Fain Park, while Meadowview Christian has a game Saturday against Victory Christian (Miss.) that will decide who wins their region in the Alabama Christian Athletic Associaiton.

“It’s time to go,” Miller said. “We are going to go out and do the same thing [batting practice] tomorrow. We’ve got a good defense. That wasn’t like us the other day (Monday) to make those kinds of errors.”

The Senators scored seven runs in the first inning to rough up Trojans starter Claudia Kendrick, but it was Morgan’s second inning effort that really put the game away. The Senators tacked on six more runs in the second. Cassidy Lawrence started the onslaught with a single to left field that scored two runners to make it 9-0. Ansley Smitherman and Kendall Veach both singled to add two more runs. Jordan Averette’s single put the finishing touches on the inning to put Morgan up 13-0.

“We had a really good effort today,” Miller said. “I saw an attitude change from yesterday.”

The game was a rare meeting for the Trojans and Senators now that Meadowview has moved to the ACAA from the AISA.

“I think these schools should play just to keep the rivalry going and keep the people happy,” Miller said. “It’s kind of like an Auburn-Alabama thing.”