Mexico closed its home schedule with a bang on Wednesday.

Well, three bangs.

The Lady Bulldogs hit a season-high three home runs to tie a season-high amount of runs in a 13-3 five-inning victory over Hannibal at Gallop Field. Their seven extra-base hits paved the way for its eighth North Central Missouri Conference win before going for a co-conference championship at 5 p.m. Thursday at Fulton.

Scottie Smith, Payton Shaw and Sammie Gipson each hit their first home runs of the season for Mexico. Shaw's was her 12th career blast, according to her, but the first for the junior this season.

Mexico vs Hannibal Photo Gallery

"It felt great," Shaw said. "I've been struggling for a while and it felt really good that I finally got out of that and did my part."

Shaw said she is more focused on what she wants to accomplish and is more confident she will get it done when she is doing well at the plate. That could explain the Mexico lineup from that point in the game, Shaw said, as it started out solid with three runs in the first but then exploded for seven runs in the second inning. 

"We just realized this is our last home game with the seniors that we have this year," Shaw said. "We were like, 'Let's give it our all.' That's what we did."

Head coach Hanna Jones said Wednesday's result was "a confidence boost" for the girls. Shaw went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, Smith was 2-for-3 with three RBIs, Gipson finished 2-for-3 and pitched 5 innings with four hits, three strikeouts, three runs and two walks, Hannah Loyd was 1-for-2 with a two-RBI triple, and Aleigha Henderson finished 3-for-3 with one RBI.

Jones said Mexico's pitch selection factored into why Mexico took off when it did in the game. She said the Lady Bulldogs especially found pitches they could drive.

"We did a good job of seeing the ball down," Jones said. "Whenever we did see balls in the zone, we hit it hard. We didn't let long at-bats get in our head at all."

Smith's home run plated three runs to cap the scoring in the second inning. The insurance was appreciated after Hannibal responded with a two-RBI home run in the third inning.

"They kept their confidence throughout the game," Jones said. "Even we allowed a couple runs, the girls did a good job of keeping it in perspective and didn't let that define the rest of the game."

Gipson's home run was her first varsity home run and complemented her complete game in the circle. The freshman slots behind several older girls on the pitching staff, but Jones said she was mentally strong on both sides of the ball.

"She took care of the batters she needed to and gave us fly balls and ground balls," Jones said. "(Hannibal's) strongest hitter is the one that hit the home run so she didn't let that shake her."

Shaw said the Lady Bulldogs know they are capable of beating every team in the conference. They have done just that, only losing 5-1 at Kirksville (16-8, 9-1 NCMC) after winning 10-2 at home against the Lady Tigers.

"We know we can win against teams," Shaw said. "Sometimes, we don't win against teams, but as long as we put our all in, that's all we can do."

Mexico is hoping to tie Kirksville for the conference championship with a win at Fulton on Thursday. Regardless, Mexico and Kirksville will face each other one more time in the first round of the Class 3 District 4 tournament at Macon at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 15.

"The girls feel really confident," Jones said. "They know their quality of play, and they know they need to come in with the best type of play they've had all season. They also want to prove a lot of people wrong and send a message. We've beat them once by a lot before. We can do it again."