Mexico softball seniors together for 5-2 win vs Hannibal

Time flies.

Mexico Softball Senior Night Photo Gallery

Mexico softball’s five seniors realized this on Wednesday after defeating North Central Missouri Conference foe Hannibal 5-2 on Senior Night at Gallop Field in Mexico, moving Mexico’s conference record to 8-1. The Lady Bulldogs had contributions from the group, including Brooke Teel finishing with three runs, two stolen bases and two hits, Karlee Sefrit hitting a RBI single and Emma Cunningham pitching seven innings with seven hits and five strikeouts. Teel, Sefrit, Cunningham, Jo Thurman and Kylie Burnett have been making positive contributions to the Mexico program for the previous four years.

The typical Senior Night ceremony transpired where each senior was introduced on the field while locking arms with their families. The amount of tears shed was more than usual as the group just finished playing its final home game. Those emotions are not a weird sight given how long they’ve been together and the close friendships forged over that time, Teel said, as she remembers playing alongside them further back than eighth grade with the local Luna Chix travel team.

“This year has been a great year because we all feel like sisters,” Teel said. “We started on a young team called Luna Chix when we were eight (years old), and we all just grew from there. It’s really nice to come back together on a high school field.”

Thurman remembers playing competitively since she was five years old and is excited that her career continues next year at the University of Missouri, making her one of three seniors to head to college as Teel and Sefrit are signed with Central Methodist University. Being with her teammates for so long has helped prepare her for the Division I level, Thurman said.

“Coming from competitive ball to high school ball is a big change,” Thurman said. “I’ve learned a lot from my teammates on how the game is just a game and doesn’t define you. My teammates are probably the best thing that has come out of these four years.”

Thurman said she realized it is important that the pressure of the game doesn’t disrupt her mentally and then physically and lighthearted moments have relaxed her over the years. For instance, this year, the Lady Bulldogs won the California Turf War Tournament for the second straight year but ran into some bus trouble, according to Thurman.

“We lost a tire on the way to California,” Thurman said. “That was hilarious and a fun experience. It was a long four years, but they went by quickly.”

Sefrit remembers the bus rides always being eventful, whether the Lady Bulldogs were laughing amongst themselves or when the bus would “almost crash” at times. Cunningham recalls the team “always laughing,”, and Burnett said everyone is proud of defeating Kirksville, not once, but twice this year after the program’s previous win against the conference rival was before their high school days in 2019.

Recently, the team has been able to congratulate Teel on a big program accomplishment as she set the new school single-season stolen base record at 28 in a 12-10 win against Palmyra and then added two more against Hannibal for an even 30 steals. Teel said she received much encouragement from her teammates that helped her reach a goal she has been running toward since freshman year.

“It makes me feel proud of not only myself but of my teammates,” Teel said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. It just proves you are capable of anything you set your mind to. This is the year I’ve been able to start every game.”

“I always feel really excited when she’s on because I know she’s always going to something really exciting,” head coach Hanna Branch said. 

The seniors said the greatest part of all these accomplishments is they were able to do all of it together.

“It’s not just a friendship. It’s a close, tight family that you can’t share with other people because they’re not in the sport,” Sefrit said. “(The Kirksville wins) show how much this group of girls have grown together to beat teams. We actually come together, talk, focus, practice and play around.”

“Working together has made us really strong,” Cunningham said. “We were always laughing at anything and everything. We just came up with our own stuff and our own jokes. Nobody (from outside) would get them.”

“Everybody is so close,” Burnett said. “The environment on and off the field is something you don’t find in every single team.”

Branch said it didn’t take much instruction going into Wednesday’s game as her team, especially the seniors, knew what type of game they liked and displayed that with a win against the Pirates. Branch said the Lady Bulldogs did a good job of being aggressive early in the count and Cunningham stepped up in the circle, expressing her desire to pitch the full game.

Branch has stated that Mexico is confident on the basepaths as well and demonstrated its knowledge and skill with runners on against Hannibal. On two separate occasions, the Lady Bulldogs used a bunt to bring a runner from third base home, including when Maddy Feger squeezed to score Teel and when Kenley Jones pressured the defense to score Hannah Loyd, following a triple.

"It was building up their confidence going in, giving them some feel-good reps at practice and making sure everything felt right for (Senior Night)," Branch said. "They are such a great group of girls. I say that because they're great teammates, they don't cause any drama on the team and represent how things we want to be done as a team."

The talent each girl has brought to Mexico has impressed Branch as she said they each can each excel in a variety of ways. Each are good bats to have in the lineup and are solid in the field as well.

“Kylie does a great job of tracking balls down and making plays that you didn’t even know she could make,” Branch said. “She does a great job holding it down in right field because I think that’s a position that’s forgotten about sometimes.

“Brooke is a very dominant center fielder. She does a great job talking and getting on. She is our consistency. She’s not afraid to speak up about things and tell information to her teammates, whether it’s an at-bat or playing the field. She’s just an all-around leader.

“Karlie has great range in the field. As a third baseman, it’s awesome to see her come over a lot because a lot of third basemen aren’t as aggressive with that. She’s got awesome power, which will be helpful when she moves on to college.”

“Jo is a super versatile player. She can hit the ball really far or she can lay down a bunt. She can play infield and she can play outfield. You’ve got something she wants to do, she’ll step up.”

“For Emma, it is not easy being the sole leave-alone pitcher right now because she is a senior and we have two freshmen pitchers. She’s been a really great leader. She does a good job of keeping her head in it. Sometimes, she is put in really tense situations and she stays steady.”

On Wednesday, Mexico learned it will be the No. 6 seed in the Class 3 District 4 tournament and face No. 3 Father Tolton (20-10), who is a reigning district champion, at 7 p.m. Oct. 12 in Moberly.

Bulldog boys soccer loses back-to-back road contests

Mexico boys soccer will be back at home on Monday against conference rival Fulton after struggling on the road this week.

The Bulldogs lost 8-0 at North Central Missouri Conference foe Marshall (7-5, 3-4 NCMC) on Monday before losing 5-1 at School of the Osage (2-12-1) on Tuesday.

Head coach Bill Gleeson said Mexico couldn’t match Marshall’s fast style of play, and the Bulldogs’ only goal this week was scored by Brendan McKeown with a head off a corner kick against Osage.

Mexico (6-8-2, 0-6 NCMC) hosts Fulton (6-7, 1-4 NCMC) at 5:30 p.m. Monday after losing to the Hornets 8-2 at their place near the beginning of the season.

Mexico junior high boys finish second at home XC meet

The Mexico Middle School boys had a good showing on Tuesday at home.

The Bulldogs hosted the cross country meet at Green Estate Park and finished second. They had three finish in the top 20 of the 3,200 meter run and collected 71 points as a team, finishing behind winner Columbia Our Lady of Lourdes’s 53 points.

Seth Stevenson had the best Mexico finish in 13th with a time of 12:53, Gavin Gruer was 17th with a 17th-place 13:14 and Reid Bickell was 18th with a 13:15.

Missouri Military Academy’s top finisher was Matthias Koester in 26th with a 13:40.