MCHS Tigers Capture Region 4AAA Title
The 2026 Macon County Tiger baseball team captured their first Region 4AAA title in postseason play this past weekend in Lafayette. (Photo by M. Darnell)
By Mark Darnell
The Macon County Tiger baseball team hosted the Region 4AAA baseball playoff this past weekend in Lafayette. The Tigers brought home their first Region Championship.
Macon opened the weekend with a game against Livingston Academy on Friday night on May 8. The Tigers wasted little time as the top of the order produced two runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. Livingston would score in the top of the third but another Tiger run in the bottom of the same frame and two more in the bottom of the fifth inning would be enough. Macon moves on to the championship game by defeating the Wildcats 5-1.
Eli Carver got the win on the mound for Macon. The junior southpaw threw six and one-third innings allowing five hits and one earned run with six strikeouts. Gunner Carlisle came on in relief and pitched two-thirds of an inning allowing no hits or runs.
Emmerson McClard had a good day at the plate. He was two for three with an RBI. Jake Meador, Hayden Dean, Matthew Wheeley, Carson Brawner, and Carver rounded out the hitting.
The championship game would pit the Macon against Watertown. Watertown had won two of the three previous meetings in the regular season. However, the Macon bats stayed hot. Macon produced three runs in the bottom of the first inning when Meador reached on an error, Dean singled scoring a run, Jones doubled scoring a run, Bilbrey had a base hit, and Carson Brawner singled for another run.
Each team would have multiple chances to score in the next six innings. Both teams would tack on one run, but Macon would close the door and win by a final score of 5-1 and capture the Region 4-AAA Championship.
Freshman Gunner Carlisle got the start and win for Macon on the mound. The youngster pitched a great game in five and one-third innings and allowed five hits, no earned runs recording three key strikeouts. Matthew Wheeley came on in the sixth inning and shut the door. He threw one and two-third innings and allowed only one hit in the final five outs.
The entire team contributed up and down the line-up. Dean was two for three with two runs scored and two RBIs, Gage Jones was two for three scoring one run and one RBI, and Ty Bilbrey was two for three with an RBI. Carson Brawner also had a hit and an RBI.
It is only the second time in program history that a Tiger baseball team has gone this deep in the post season. The 1978 District Champion Macon team made it this far in a different post-season format.
Next the Tigers will host the Sub-State in a three-game series. It is believed that that series will take place in Lafayette this weekend.
Congratulations to the 2026 Region 4AA Champions, the Macon County Tigers!
