Mexico couldn’t close another long game on Thursday.

Mexico vs Fulton Photo Gallery

For the second straight night, the Bulldogs played an eight-inning game at home and lost by one run again in an 8-7 defeat to North Central Missouri Conference rival and Class 4 No. 7 Fulton. The Hornets scored six runs to take the 7-6 lead in the seventh inning, Mexico tied the game in seventh on a Cooper Bledsoe RBI single and then Fulton won in the eighth on an RBI infield hit by Gabe DeFily.

Head coach Daniel McCarty said Mexico (7-6, 0-4 NCMC) was in a good position with a 6-1 lead in the seventh inning and even had two outs before Fulton (8-2, 3-1 NCMC) started to chip away. Gage Baker hit a bases-clearing double and then Miles Bethell hit an RBI triple before scoring the go-ahead run on a passed ball. All seven of Fulton’s runs in the final two innings happened with two outs.

“We’ve just got to learn to pound the zone and not to give up any freebies,” McCarty said. “That’s something we need to get better at — closing that door with two outs. There’s an episode at Southern Boone where we gave up six runs in the last inning. We’ve just got to overcome that by blocking that out by throwing strikes and playing good defense.”

Four Mexico pitchers combined to allow 11 walks, including seven by starter Jaydon Eldridge. However, Eldridge only allowed one run on two hits while striking out four in five innings. Four of those innings had constant windy and rainy conditions, McCarty said, and he knows how tough that can be on a pitcher.

“As a former pitcher, it’s very crucial to get your finger-tip pressure on the ball,” McCarty said. “If you don’t have that, that slickness makes the ball spin and go out of your hands.”

At the plate, Eldridge went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI and a double. Drew DeMint had a two-RBI double in a three-run fifth inning that gave Mexico a 4-1 lead. Austin Maxwell had an RBI on an infield hit to go along with an RBI infield hit by Eldridge in a two-run sixth inning. 

In recent games, including Mexico’s 5-4 loss in eight innings the previous night to Lutheran St. Charles, the Bulldogs have struggled hitting with runners in scoring position. McCarty said they were better in that aspect this time against Fulton.

“It was a whole team effort,” McCarty said. “I don’t think any individual stood out. Our guys kept on fighting through adversity, but we just came out short tonight.”

Bledsoe came up with the biggest hit of the night for Mexico when he tied the game at 7 in the seventh inning. Prior to that, he had two strikeouts and even joked about his inability to hit in the dugout. That didn’t stop him and McCarty from trusting him in a big spot.

“He’s a likeable kid,” McCarty said. “During his at-bat, the Fulton coach talked to the pitcher, and I talked to him and said, ‘What do you think man?’ He said, ‘Well, the rain stopped and I’m ready to hit.’ I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it. I’m not going to squeeze you and you’re going to hit it.’”

After Bledsoe’s hit, Mexico encountered bad luck when Sam Ryan’s liner down the third-base line was caught and turned into a forceout at third for an inning-ending double play. In the eighth inning, the Bulldogs were on the receiving end of a close play at first base when DeFily slid head-first to allow the winning run to score on the play. That was a “bang-bang” play and was a bang-bang type of game.

Mexico outhit Fulton 10-7 and had no errors compared to the Hornets’ four but need to correct a few minor things before starting the Eugene Quad at 5 p.m. today against Hallsville (3-5). The Bulldogs then play on Saturday in the quad against Eugene (3-6) at 9 a.m. and Waynesville (2-5) at 1 p.m.

“We won the hit battle and error battle,” McCarty said. “We’ve just got to fix a few things here and there.”