Mexico softball has a new voice this season but looks to be strong in similar areas.

The Lady Bulldogs have averaged at seven runs per game in each the previous two seasons and have impressed first-year head coach Hanna Branch the most at the plate. Mexico is still figuring the best run prevention combination in the circle and in the field to be better than the 5.1 runs allowed during last season’s 19-13 campaign.

“It seems like most of the girls are great hitters,” Branch said. “Just from the looks at a lot of their swings, they look pretty on target and a lot of them have good approaches to things so far.”

Mexico let the home runs fly last year, mostly with the trio of Abby Bellamy, Hannah Loyd and senior Jordyn Thurman. Travel ball player Loyd and University of Missouri commit Thurman will be back as will travel ball player Maddy Feger, and seniors Karlee Sefrit, Brooke Teel and Kylie Burnett.

Branch said she wouldn’t mind seeing more power out of the Lady Bulldogs’ lineup again this year as the Nos. 1 through 9 could shape up to be really good.

“I’m trying to teach them different adjustments they can make in the box, how they can change their timing, and change their bat path to the ball,” Branch said. “I’m trying to teach basic mechanics of what a swing should look like and how we’re going to get the most power behind the ball.”

Mexico won’t have players like Bellamy, Kierstan Epperson and Lexie Willer every day in the lineup from now on, but that also affects the team defensively. Bellamy and Epperson patrolled the corner infield spots while Willer provided solid play in the outfield.

Branch said she is of the school of mind of letting the girls make impressions during fall practices rather than just rely on last year’s numbers. There are several factors that could have led to a down year for some girls so the lineup and defensive alignment is up in the air.

Defense is important so Mexico’s offense is properly backed up, and Branch said she has been impressed with how versatile how many the girls have been so that also factors in to the uncertain alignment.

“We’ve been working a lot with how we’re going to organize priority in the field, how we’re going to do cuts, do bunt coverages and that kind of thing,” Branch said. “It’s just some organizational things and then seeing who can execute it the greatest right now.”

The catcher Loyd is someone who has displayed great execution as well as leadership despite being a sophomore, Branch said, which will be helpful for the pitching staff that has one returner in the senior Emma Cunningham along with two newcomers Kerrstan Ewing and Aleigha Henderson that will be considered.

“She has a great leadership persona,” Branch said. “She’s jumped right in and is already helping our younger catchers and our pitchers get familiar with how we want to do signs and how we want our pitching staff to be organized. It’s something that we need when we have younger pitchers.”

Of course, the leadership extends to the team’s five seniors – Cunningham, Thurman, Teel, Burnett and Sefrit – which Branch said has “set the tone” the roster that contains six juniors and a ton of sophomores.

“Our group of seniors have done a really good job of buying into what I have to say and how I want our team to be run,” Branch said. “It’s not easy for me to just come in and run things completely different from what they’re used to. A lot of them are willing to do what I ask them to do and have been doing a good job of pushing girls in the right direction.”