Morgan Academy’s baseball team found a way to remain unbeaten.

Jeremy Lee’s two-run homer in the sixth inning was the difference as the Senators beat Macon-East 8-6 in Game 1 of the AISA AAA state baseball playoffs on Thursday at home.

The Senators (26-0) can clinch the best-of-3 second-round series with a sweep in Game 2 on Friday at 4 p.m.

“We’ve got a bunch of battlers on this team that fight no matter what the score is,” Senators coach Stephen Clements said. “They did a good job and I’m proud of them.”

Gunnar Henderson was the winning pitcher, throwing four solid innings of relief. The Auburn University baseball signee struck out five batters, relieving Matthew Davis.

“It was great to get the first win of the series to give our starting pitchers some rest,” Henderson said. “I think we’ll be hyped for Game 2 and we’ll come out and close the series.”

The Senators took a 3-0 first inning lead on Lee’s sacrifice fly, Joseph Estes’ RBI single and Xavier Green’s RBI groundout.

The Knights (27-12) cut the lead to 3-1 on Colby Cox’s RBI single in the second inning.

Henderson’s RBI groundout in the second inning extended the Senators’ lead to 4-1.

Macon-East scored twice in the third inning to get within 4-3 on RBI doubles by Tanner McNaughton and Clay Stagle.

Morgan Academy extended its lead to 6-3 in the fifth inning on RBI singles by Estes and Dione Allen.

The Senators’ final runs came on Lee’s two-run homer in the sixth.

“I saw a fast ball, belt-high and I went deep with it,” Lee said. “It’s huge to win that first game. Now, we have a chance to close them out.”

The Knights scored three runs in the seventh inning on Jackson Ceman’s sac-fly and Stagles’ two-run infield single, but couldn’t get closer as Henderson sealed the victory with a groundout.