Mexico softball kept building its lead throughout Thursday’s game, but it still felt something was wrong.

The Lady Bulldogs had a 6-0 lead in the sixth inning against Hannibal in Mexico until a brief rain delay halted the game. They then scored six runs to close the game early with a 12-0 victory in six innings. 

There were some hard hit balls to the outfield by Mexico (8-3) up to that point, but head coach Hanna Branch said she still thought the team was in a funk that carried over from two one-run losses on the road to district opponents Hallsville and Kirksville. Hannibal (2-3) had three of its four errors after the delay while trying to field a wet ball and those were interspersed between consistent and better contact by Mexico.

Mexico vs Hannibal Photo Gallery

"We were stuck in a funk, making the same mistakes every at bat," head coach Hanna Jones said. "Playing a little small ball helped us get out of the funk to make something happen and move runners around." 

Before rain fell, Mexico had several tappers in front of home plate. Those went away when Jones said the Lady Bulldogs took better approaches.

“A lot of girls were either really far out in front or just weren’t selecting good quality pitches,” Jones said. “A lot of it was left up to the umpire with two strikes. We had way too many striked out lookings for my liking. The girls did a better job toward the end of the game to be disciplined and find better pitches to hit.”

Some girls did find success with good contact throughout the game. Payton Sells finished 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles, and Sammie Gipson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, a double and her first home run of the year. In the sixth inning, Sells hit a two-RBI double, and Gipson closed the game with a two-RBI home run. 

Gipson was also good in the circle as she pitched six innings with three hits and three strikeouts for her first career complete game shutout. 

“I could grip the screwball more than the rest because it was so wet,” Gipson said.

Gipson said everyone wasn’t happy with the plate approaches earlier in the game. She said she had some personal errors that she wanted to correct.

“We weren’t making good decisions,” Gipson said. “I knew I had to go up there with confidence and get it.”

Jones said maybe the rain washed away the funk or even the game the girls played during the rain delay served as a reset. She said Mexico can course correct mostly because of the girls. A couple of examples are some of the newer faces.

Gipson is a sophomore stepping into a bigger varsity role after recording varsity time last year. Jones said Gipson works hard hitting and pitching and thinks that can have a positive influence on the team.

“She went in confidently and felt good,” Jones said. “ She was having great at bats, and she’s really been doing pretty well, but things just haven’t gone her way in previous games. I felt she was due.”

Sells was hitless in seven at bats against Hallsville and Kirksville before being perfect at the plate against Hannibal. Jones said the senior rising to a starting varsity role was focused on hitting on Thursday.

“She has been doing a great job of putting the ball in play, but I feel like it’s been right at people, which can be really defeating,” Jones said. “She was a designated player today, so she could just focus on hitting and get some confidence back. She had confidence that we needed.”