Several Lady Bulldogs took turns at second base on Thursday.

Mexico vs Hannibal Photo Gallery

Mexico defeated North Central Missouri Conference and district foe Hannibal (1-6, 0-3 NCMC) 10-0 in five innings at home last week for its second straight victory within conference and district — two days following a 5-2 win at Kirksville. Its lineup scored seven runs and hit four of its six doubles in the first inning in a 13-hit effort.

Head coach Hanna Branch admitted that Mexico (5-8, 2-1 NCMC) was too “excited” and was under too many balls in the middle of the game, but that first inning demonstrated an effective yet simple approach at the plate.

"We were aggressive really early, and it was kind of nice for all of the girls to trade spots at second," Branch said when referring to three straight RBI doubles Mexico had in the first inning. "That's a dream scenario. They were looking for pitches they could drive, stay on top of and be on time. They did a great job of keeping it simple with their approach."

First it was Landri Teel, then it was Maddy Feger and Payton Shaw that traded spots with a teammate at second base after hitting a RBI double. Hannah Loyd did the same in her second time up in the inning.

Loyd began the inning by reaching on an infield error but crushed that RBI double and then a solo home run in the third inning. After celebrating at the plate with her teammates, it was officially Loyd’s third home run of the season. 

“It felt great,” Loyd said about the home run. “I’ve just got to keep working.”

The junior Loyd has hit home runs in the past for the Lady Bulldogs but never from the leadoff spot. This is the all-conference and all-district catcher’s first season hitting from the leadoff spot after never doing it at any point of her softball career.

Loyd said it was odd at first after hitting behind teammates for years. She was the one that was told what the pitcher was throwing, but now, she is the one who is scouting the pitcher’s arsenal.”

“It was a pretty big adjustment,” Loyd said. “It’s just going out there and testing the waters, trying to take long at-bats, and get many pitches and see what you get.”

Branch said she feels comfortable with Loyd hitting leadoff because of how comfortable Loyd is at the plate. Loyd sees many pitches up close as a catcher along with her many previous at-bats so it seemed like a good fit.

“It’s to start a fire right off the bat,” Branch said. “We played around with different lineups. I just wanted us to start off the game with a really smart at-bat and a really aggressive at-bat where we’re going to get on and start the fire with the rest of the girls.”

Loyd has more at-bats while in the leadoff spot and the girls behind her feel ready to go, Branch said. That was certainly the case on Thursday.

Keerstan Ewing went 3-for-4 with two RBI she picked up on the walk-off single in the fifth inning, Landri Teel was 2-for-4 with a RBI double and Alyssa Miller finished 2-for-3 with a RBI.

"People were very on it and were watching what the pitcher was throwing," Loyd said. "They were doing what they were supposed to do with the pitch. Everybody has been working hard on their hitting and making adjustments."

Branch said Aleigha Henderson was “steady” in the circle in a game dominated by offense. She said Henderson might not have benefitted from as many calls at the plate as usual but finished with five innings, three hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

“Aleigha was steady throughout the whole game,” Branch said. “She’s really good about trusting her defense. When runners get on, she doesn’t let the pressure get to her. She works in the zone and focuses on one batter at a time and one pitch at a time.” 

Mexico plays its conference rival Fulton (4-0, 3-0 NCMC) for the first time this season at 5 p.m. Thursday.