Mexico had been playing some good softball recently.

The Lady Bulldogs went into Wednesday with a four-game winning streak and winners in eight of their last nine games. They lost 10-2 to Elsberry (11-3) on Wednesday at Gallop Field after being outhit 14-4. 

Mexico (11-8) hadn't lost a game by a wider margin this season except for a 13-3 defeat against Capital City at the start of the season. Head coach Hanna Jones said the Elsberry game is definitely a learning opportunity.

Mexico vs Elsberry Photo Gallery

"This game humbled us a little bit," Jones said. "We made some mistakes that cost us. Hitting batters pitching-wise, making throwing errors and not being as aggressive defensively, that's what cost us."

Elsberry was able to score the baserunner it put on base and take advantage of abnormal defense from Mexico. Jones said this started in the second inning when the Lady Indians singled on two straight bunts following a Kenzie Koch leadoff double. Three runs scored in that inning and then six runs crossed over the next two innings as Elsberry hit balls hard.

Jones said there were lapses in bunt coverage early in the game and then failing to prevent Elsberry from taking extra bases. She said a slow start hurt the Lady Bulldogs.

"Shutting them down early would have helped us a lot," Jones said. "Offensively, we turned it on really late in the game. We made some good adjustments and were hitting the ball hard, but those first few innings of at-bats weren't as polished as we have been in the past."

Koch struck out eight Lady Bulldogs in seven innings and went 2-for-2 with four runs and a two-RBI home run at the plate. Lizzy Mound had the other two-RBI home run for Elsberry.

For Mexico, Aleigha Henderson had a RBI hit, Scottie Smith had one RBI and Hannah Loyd walked twice but had her three-game home run streak broken. 

"She threw a lot up in the zone," Jones said about Koch. "Once we started laying off of it, we had more success. We were falling for a lot of the movement she was throwing, swinging at junk and letting good pitches early in the count go. Once you get behind in the count, it's really hard to work off a riseball pitcher."

Jones said she liked Mexico was aggressive on more low pitches, but this happened too late in the game. 

Mexico had three pitchers appear in the circle. First there was Henderson and then Kaitlyn Krietemeyer and Keerstan Ewing. Henderson and Ewing have been good options for Mexico all year, picking up wins over seven-inning outings the last two games at Marshall and Moberly, respectively. Krietemeyer has had more work recently, pitching three shutouts innings in back-to-back games in wins against Macon and Fulton and allowed one run in 2 2/3 innings against Elsberry. 

"KK does a really good job of focusing on movement," Jones said. "She moves the ball well, and she puts in a lot of work. She may not be the fastest pitcher, but she moves the ball well and throws batters off-balance. That is exactly what we need."

Mexico looks to focus on this weekend when it begins the the California Turf War Tournament as the No. 4 seed. It begins play at 5 p.m. Friday against No. 5 seed Eldon (13-3). The Lady Bulldogs have finished third, first and first in their last three California tournaments.

"Going into this weekend, it's a game that's a motivator," Jones said. "It's going to give stuff to work on and is definitely something we're not taking lightly. Being humbled is a good thing."