The season wasn’t over yet for Mexico softball on Monday night.
After being down 9-4 going into the seventh inning of the Class 3 District 4 championship game at host and state No. 8 Macon …
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The season wasn’t over yet for Mexico softball on Monday night.
After being down 9-4 going into the seventh inning of the Class 3 District 4 championship game at host and state No. 8 Macon (22-13), the Lady Bulldogs rallied for four runs and had runners at second and third base. Keerstan Ewing’s liner was caught by the hopping second baseman, ending the game with a 9-8 loss and closing Mexico’s season at 19-14.
Head coach Hanna Jones said it is disappointing when the season ends sooner than the girls and coaches would like, but there was nothing disappointing about the performance. In Mexico’s first softball district title game since 2019, the Lady Bulldogs didn’t give up even when faced with a big deficit at the end.
“They fought to the very end,” Jones said. “That’s what I’m most proud about.”
After the freshman tied the semifinal game against Hallsville on Thursday, Sammie Gipson led off the seventh inning with a single. Kayleigh Samuelson walked, Maddy Feger grounding into a fielder’s choice scored one run and then eventually Aleigha Henderson’s single scored two more runs and Scottie Smith reaching first base via an error brought Mexico within one run.
In the two previous innings, Macon pitcher Payton Weimer pitched to seven batters, walking one hitter but recording four of the six outs via groundouts. Some of those outs happened on the first pitch and then Mexico locked in when it was do-or-die.
“It felt like we gave everything we had,” Jones said. “It wasn’t like the umpire or some play was the defining factor. We fought to the very end — full count, hard line drive — we couldn’t have done anything else. The girls rallied with two outs, and they did a great job of not laying down.”
Jones said she is proud that the Lady Bulldogs faced adversity so well this season like they did in the district tournament. After not being able to secure an outright North Central Missouri Conference championship, Mexico beat Kirksville 6-3 in the first round to take the season series. After losing senior catcher Hannah Loyd — who was still unavailable against Macon — in the middle of Mexico’s game with Hallsville, the Lady Bulldogs responded by walking off the Lady Indians 9-8 in nine innings.
Mexico took a 2-0 lead and was going blow-for-blow with Macon until a three-RBI home run by Reece Barnett in the fourth inning made it 7-4. Before that happened, the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of opportunities on the basepaths, scoring two runs in the second inning on a Gipson infield single and then Miller scored on a throwing error to first base after she pressured Weimer by bouncing between third base and home plate in the third inning. Ewing made a heads-up baserunning play in the fourth inning when she advanced to third base on a dropped ball by the first baseman after recording a groundout. Ewing scored on Samuelson’s groundout.
“They did a good job of being aggressive and reserved when they needed to on the bases,” Jones said. “There were a couple of wild pitches and passed balls we took advantage of, and there were a couple of weird plays where they bobbled it or misthrew it. The girls did a good job of reading it.”
Mexico and Macon hadn’t met in districts since 10 years ago when Mexico won that district championship game 8-7. This season, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Macon 5-4 after scoring the winning run in the seventh inning on Macon’s field. The starting pitchers from that previous meeting going in the circle again added up to another close game in this tournament.
Ewing was taken out of the circle with two outs in the fourth inning after allowing 11 hits and five earned runs in her previous 11⅓ innings in the tournament. For the second straight game and latest time in many recent games near the end of the season, Jones leaned on underclassmen pitchers Kaitlyn Krietemeyer and Gipson and she expects to do the same in the future.
“They do a really good job of handling pressure,” Jones said. “They did a fantastic job of not letting things rattle them. They have good teammates surrounding them that boost them up, and they trust their defense a lot. I lean on them because I know each of them have strengths.”
Mexico fell win shy of its first 20-win season since its 27-4 record during the most recent 2018 state championship season. However, the seniors accumulated 69 wins over their four years with the program.
Jones said the seniors certainly accomplished much in their time as Lady Bulldogs and brought a lot of talent to the team as freshmen because of them playing softball since they were in elementary school. She said that wasn’t all their value as she conveyed to the team during their final postgame chat.
“This class was not only a very talented group, but they were also just really well-rounded girls,” Jones said. “They were good girls and good leaders on the team. Part of my parting words to some of those girls is, ‘Remember how it feels to have that kind of leadership.’ Good teams don’t go this far without good leadership. I wish them the best.”
