Tension was high late in Monday’s game.

Mexico had a one-run lead at home in the seventh inning when Hallsville had the bases loaded with one out. Drew DeMint induced a ground ball that was gobbled up by third baseman Zach Jahn, who then turned a 5-3 double play with a scoop by first baseman Gatlin Denham to end the game and secure the 7-6 victory for Mexico (16-10).

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“As soon as he hit it, I knew (he would be out),” DeMint said. “I looked at the guy running to first, and he wasn’t even halfway. Gatlin had a pretty good scoop over there at first.”

Mexico outhit Hallsville (6-12) 14-5, but the Indians battled back after being down 6-1 after four innings. The Bulldogs picked five runs with two-out hits, including a two-RBI double by Pearson Kleinsorge, a RBI triple by DeMint and a RBI infield single by Chance McCarty on what ended up being the game-winning hit.

Kleinsorge went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a double, DeMint was 2-for-4 with a RBI triple, Chance McCarty finished 3-for-4 with one RBI, and Brady Fox was 3-for-4. 

“We come through in those (two-out) situations, but we need to come through more often when someone’s on and there’s nobody out,” DeMint said. “We’ve just got to keep scoring and put up a weird number every other inning or every inning.”

Head coach Daniel McCarty said Mexico left too many on base and thought more runs should have scored with those 14 hits. When the Bulldogs did hit, he liked their approach.

“We’re starting to learn how to sit back more and drive and use the whole field,” McCarty said. “Usually, it’s been left to left-center for most of our hits, but tonight, we used all the field.”

Kleinsorge was a good example of this, according to McCarty. The sophomore has started most of the time behind the plate in his first year as a varsity starter. McCarty said Kleinsorge has some experience catching for Mexico last year and with his travel ball team and maturing this season.

“Before, he’s been worried about catching and his offense,” McCarty said. “He unloaded tonight on the offensive side of things. He was definitely barrelling the ball tonight, especially to right-center and right field. And he got a double to left field.”

Brayden Arnold pitched five innings before DeMint covered the final two innings. Arnold was stingy with baserunners until running into trouble in the fourth and fifth innings.

“He persevered,” McCarty said. “He came out throwing strikes and got ahead and got ground balls. He didn’t give up a hit until the fourth or fifth inning. He was in control and in command tonight.”

Mexico was coming off its second loss to conference and district rival Fulton on Friday for Senior Night. The Bulldogs are back in the win column, but the schedule will be harder from here.

“Our guys know what's going on and what they need to do,” McCarty said. “We just need to calm down a little bit.”

Speaking of seniors, DeMint, Fox, McCarty, Kaden Benne and Kinser Groves were honored with a ceremony for the four years they contributed to the program. 

DeMint said there have been times the Bulldogs have struggled, but there have been fun times as well, including when they won nine of 10 games late last season. He said it has meant much to come up with the other four seniors and wants to win a district championship with them.

“I have played with most of these guys since I was eight, so that helps,” DeMint said. 

Each senior has key roles in the starting lineup and have been at the center of key moments this season, whether it has been on the mound, at the plate or in the field. McCarty said at least one of the five seniors is stepping up every night.

“I’ve had these guys since they were freshmen,” McCarty said. “They’re workers. They’re very talented. They know what it takes to win as they have experienced that in football or basketball. It’s a good outlook going into our district run to have those five guys on the field and know what it takes to get the job done.”