It wasn’t the Mexico softball seniors’ first home run derby, but it was special.
On Friday under the lights of Gallop Field, the Lady Bulldog seniors competed against some of the …
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It wasn’t the Mexico softball seniors’ first home run derby, but it was special.
On Friday under the lights of Gallop Field, the Lady Bulldog seniors competed against some of the Mexico football seniors a couple hours before their midnight scrimmage at Hawthorne Heights next door. The top five were Kael Smith, Hunter Love, Payton Shaw, Isabelle Friedrich and James Matthews.
Head coach Hanna Jones said the home run derby definitely didn’t start with her. In fact, she said that was one of the first things brought up to her when she started a few years ago. It was the last derby, however, for the first set of seniors she had as freshmen.
“It’s great for the seniors,” Jones said. “They’re special. It’s cool to see them have fun and be with their classmates. Overall, our community support has been great as we had a really great turnout.”
Mexico will have seven seniors playing on Gallop Field for the last time this season. They have two winning seasons and a .500 season.
Jones said Friday’s event was for fun, but she noticed how her girls were taking great swings. She said they probably wanted to do better because of their competitive drive going against football, but it’s a nice start.
“I try to reiterate with them that I rather they hit it hard than kill birds while you’re hitting it out,” Jones said. “There are definitely a lot of leaders offensively in our senior group.”
The girls are pumped up for the season, which starts on Aug. 28 in the Peoples Bank Back to School Classic in Sullivan, but they host a jamboree this Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs tried to pump the crowd up on Friday with not only a 50/50 raffle but also their first chuck-a-duck challenge. The duck that landed in the circle on the pitching rubber earned someone a cash prize. Proceeds raised from the contests went to the Mexico softball program.
“I thought I would start a new tradition,” Jones said. “I’ve seen people do it at basketball events before. It gets kids in the community involved. As an elementary school teacher, I know a lot of kids in the community.”
