On several occasions, Mexico baseball has been ahead of North Central Missouri Conference foe Marshall, only to lose.

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That wasn’t the case on Thursday as the Bulldogs didn’t give the Owls a chance to come back with a 12-0 victory in five innings at home, snapping a nine-game losing streak against Marshall. Mexico tallied 12 hits while not giving up any as Austin Maxwell struck out five through four innings and Jaydon Eldridge covered the final inning.

Marshall (0-2, 0-1 NCMC) went into Thursday as a reigning Class 4 state Final Four team and received votes in the first state poll this season. Once Mexico (2-0, 2-0 NCMC) had two runs via a Sam Ryan two-out hit in the first inning, the Bulldogs didn’t take their foot off the gas, which is exactly what head coach Daniel McCarty wanted to see to earn the team’s first win against Marshall since 2017 and avenge 13-10 and 12-4 losses last season.

“They just never quit. They are pesky hitters,” McCarty said. “Last year, we lost to them twice in the last inning. We were up by six runs in one game, and we were up by three runs in the second game last year. I said, ‘We are not putting the breaks on tonight boys. We are going full throttle.’ We learned in the past about coasting but now we’ve learned to kick high gear every inning.”

McCarty said he wanted to instill that aggressive mindset into his pitcher Maxwell, and he felt he delivered. He didn’t know Maxwell was holding the Owls hitless as the sophomore tallied his four walks in his final two innings to move his pitch count into the 60s.

Overall, McCarty said Maxwell located his pitches well as he retired the first seven batters he faced and struck out four of six Owls hitters during one stretch. The only Maxwell performance McCarty thought is better is his outing in a 3-1 loss at Class 5 state champion Platte County last year.

“His command was really good tonight,” McCarty said. “He pitched against Platte County. That was one of his better games as he gave up three hits. This one definitely compares up to it. He’s our No. 2, and I challenged him and told him that, ‘We have not beat Marshall since 2017.’ He accepted it and accomplished that task.”

Maxwell said he was throwing his slider well on Thursday as he trusted his arm, defense and offense to support him.

“I was just having fun, trusting my arm,” Maxwell said. “It feels really good when you know you can trust your defense behind you. You just go up there and throw strikes.”

Maxwell was one of four Bulldogs to finish with two RBI and one of seven to pick up at least one RBI. Ryan finished 2-for-2 and knocked in both of his RBI in the first inning by going the other way.

Ryan is a sophomore that slots in behind senior Nos. 3 and 4 hitters Landyn Kleinsorge and Tyler Thoenen, and McCarty said he was able to showcase why he is entrusted with that spot in the lineup.

“He’s a complete package,” McCarty said. “He’s smart, he knows the game, he knows how to execute and he’s always one play ahead.”

Matt McCurdy and Drew DeMint were the other Bulldogs to each finish with multiple RBI. McCurdy’s two-run double made it 4-0 in the second inning and then Mexico busted the game wide open with a five-run third inning.

Four of Mexico’s runs in the third were scored on plays where the ball didn’t exit the infield. The freshman DeMint’s RBI single in the frame was solidly hit to the outfield to follow his double from earlier in the game.

“He also rose to the occasion,” McCarty said. “At the bottom of the lineup, he put an anchor down and rose.”

Mexico junior varsity won 9-0 in five innings. Tyson Carr held the Owls to two walks and one hit through five innings while striking out eight. Jaydon Eldridge had a two-RBI double, and Kaden Benne drove in two runs.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs’ freshman team defeated Fulton 10-0 and 3-1. Brady Fox struck out 15 and allowed one hit through six innings in the 10-0 game, and Jayden Hodge led the offense with two RBI in the 3-1 game.

Mexico had a game scheduled at Eldon (0-3) on Friday before hosting conference foe Kirksville (0-2, 0-1 NCMC) at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.