Morgan Academy was still three outs away from winning the school’s first-ever state baseball championship.

Pike Liberal Arts had other ideas, scoring six runs in the seventh inning to pull out a 13-8 victory in Game 3 of the AISA State Baseball Championship Series on Thursday at Riverwalk Stadium.

The Patriots (26-11) repeated as AISA AAA state champions, while the Senators finished the season at 30-2, dropping their last two contests.

Senators coach Stephen Clements was classy in defeat after the contest that went back and forth the entire seven innings.

“Give credit to Pike Liberal Arts, they whipped our butts,” Clements said. “They were the better team today. Hats off to them.”

The Patriots capitalized on three Morgan Academy mistakes, hitting a batter, a walk and a fielding error, to grab a 10-8 lead. Holt Steed added an RBI single and Levi Sikes’ two-run single wrapped up the game’s scoring.

Chandler Golen, who was the winning pitcher, earned Championship MVP honors. He also hit a homer in the sixth inning to keep the Patriots within striking distance.

Morgan Academy had three players make the All-Tournament team: Gunnar Henderson, Jeremy Lee and Matthew Davis.

Thursday marked the final game for five Senators: Gunnar Henderson, Brayton Brown, David Ducote, Xavier Green and Dione Allen. Henderson, Brown, and Ducote all signed with Auburn University.

Henderson, the state’s top-ranked baseball prospect, said he enjoyed playing for the Senators and will cherish those memories.

“I couldn’t be happier to set the tone for players below me,” Henderson said. “I loved playing with my teammates at Morgan Academy.”

Brown said he was proud of the Senators’ effort in the three-game State championship series.

“We did our best and at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask for,” Brown said.

Ducote thanked Morgan Academy for welcoming him after transferring from St. Andrew Episcopal School in Ridgeland, Mississippi.

“It’s a tough way to lose, but finishing a season in the state championship series at Riverwalk Stadium is the best place to be,” Ducote said. “I enjoyed playing with my teammates at Morgan Academy.”

Clements said he was proud of what the Senators accomplished this season. Morgan Academy spent the entire year ranked as the state’s top-ranked team

“One or two games never defines a team,” Clements said. “It’s disheartening that we didn’t finish. Nobody likes to walk off the field a loser. I’ll go to battle with this team anytime. This is one of the best teams I’ve been around.”

Joseph Estes had two hits for the Senators and drove in three runs. Davis drove in two runs. Freshman Andrew Thomas was the losing pitcher in relief for Morgan Academy.