For much of Thursday’s baseball juniors championship game, Mexico was in familiar territory.
Mexico’s Meek’s squad coached by Steve Mcculley, Bri Goff and Anthony Brower defeated North …
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For much of Thursday’s baseball juniors championship game, Mexico was in familiar territory.
Mexico’s Meek’s squad coached by Steve Mcculley, Bri Goff and Anthony Brower defeated North Callaway 8-3 in four innings at Mexico Optimist fields to win the Central Missouri Athletic Association junior division championship. The team went 8-2 during the summer and then went 2-0 in the CMAA tournament, winning its first game 7-6 against Harrisburg and was tied at 3 with North Callaway before a five-run inning to win before the one-and-a-half hour time limit.
Goff said Mexico had played in five one-run games this summer, joking it was “very traumatic.” She felt proud of this team for the way the upcoming eighth- and ninth-grade boys were able to win those close games before closing out the championship the way they did.
“They have a lot of perseverance,” Goff said. “They have a lot of determination. I’ve had 10 out of the 14 kids before on my team throughout the years. I’ve been trying to instill a lot of confidence in them — to be not confident in themselves, but in each other. It really shows.”
Goff said the coaches have had “the best group of kids and the best group of parents.” When North Callaway tied the game at 3, Mexico responded with five runs that began on a two-RBI hit by catcher Liam Patton.
Up to that point, runs scored via throwing errors to third base. The coaches liked the kids reaching base but wanted to see someone hit the ball rather than walk.
“He’s come in clutch a lot this year,” Goff said. “He’s a great hitter, he’s a great catcher and he’s a great kid. We’ve had a lot of clutch hits, and he’s been a big part of the lineup this year.”
Moments like that is partially what brings Goff back to the Mexico Optimist leagues each year. She said this was her 12th Optimist team after playing for the league from four to 16 years old and then umpiring for many years. Goff started coaching privately at 17 years old, so she has years of coaching experience in baseball and softball.
Goff said she wants to give back and was glad was able to help seven boys win a championship in their final years.
“Baseball has instilled a lot in me,” Goff said. “My dad and my mom were coaches growing up throughout the years. I’ve had some pretty amazing coaches. As I got older, a few other people stepped in and were some of my biggest supporters. I want to be these guys’ biggest supporters as well.”
In the previous round, North Callaway also won a one-run game in a 5-4 victory against Sturgeon. North Callaway’s Bantams division team won their championship game against South Callaway on Thursday at the Optimist fields after a 7-6 semifinal victory over Sturgeon to finish 11-1.
On Thursday in Hallsville, Mexico McDonald’s won the Youngteens softball championship against Hallsville after a 16-15 semifinal win over North Callaway. Centralia won the Preteens softball championship against Hallsville on Wednesday in Hallsville after a 10-4 semifinal victory over Harrisburg.
