Mexico softball has made history before even playing a district game this week.
On Oct. 8, the Lady Bulldogs ended the regular season at home with a 9-2 win over rival Fulton (2-20) for their …
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Mexico softball has made history before even playing a district game this week.
On Oct. 8, the Lady Bulldogs ended the regular season at home with a 9-2 win over rival Fulton (2-20) for their 20th win. They secured their first 20-win season since the state championship campaign of 2018 in front of a larger crowd for Pink Out Night and Teacher Appreciation Night.
Mexico (20-8) was also picked to host districts for the first time since 2014, so the team begins district play on its own turf at 4 p.m. today against Macon (11-16). Head coach Hanna Jones is proud of what her team has accomplished up to this point.
"I'm very proud of the girls because they definitely put in the work to get to this point, especially our seniors," Jones said about the 20-win accomplishment. "The seniors have been good leaders for our team. I feel like a lot of the work and extra reps and everything has led up to this point. It's cool to see their hard work is paying off."
Mexico began the season on the same pace as the 2018 team through nine games with a 7-2 start. The Lady Bulldogs struggled early against their district schedule, losing the first three matchups against district opponents, but they then won the next three to ultimately finish 3-4 against district foes.
The losses happened against top two seeds and top-three Class 3 teams Chillicothe and Centralia and in one-run losses to Hallsville and Kirksville. Mexico has beaten Kirksville, Moberly and Macon.
“Playing sharply will help,” Jones said. “Little details matter when you play good teams like swinging at quality pitching, making sure you have quality at bats and making sure you are solid defensively. Little mistakes add up to big runs when you are playing good teams like that so make sure you make the routine plays and hustle after the big plays.”
Alyssa Miller said the Lady Bulldogs need to be confident in themselves because they have the talent to compete. She said they also have the chemistry, which explains why they made it to 20 wins.
“We all get along,” Miller said. “We all have fun playing this game together. I think that is a big aspect in this, and that helps a lot. We’re all talking each other up and are all cheering each other on no matter what’s going on in the game.”
Mexico scored 18 runs at Hannibal and nine runs against Fulton a few days after it won 14-5 against 19-win Class 5 Liberty to end the Kewpie Classic on a good note. The offensive output is slightly higher than last year at about eight runs per game for a five-year high.
Girls like Payton Shaw and Aleigha Henderson have usually been offensive contributors, but the same can be said for every girl in the lineup. In the regular season finale against Fulton, Mexico had two-RBI hits come from Scottie Smith, Chloe Landrum and Payton Sells. About everybody in the lineup has led the team in RBIs at some point this season.
“A lot of the girls lean on each other,” Jones said. “That is exactly what I want in a team. If one girl doesn’t, pass it on to the next girl. If you can’t do it, then lean on your teammate. It says a lot about putting the ball in play and making something happen.”
Mexico has cycled through three pitchers, led by senior Keerstan Ewing and Kaitlyn Krietemeyer and Sammie Gipson have each started games and pitched multiple relief innings. The Lady Bulldogs have allowed five runs or less in six of their previous eight games. The three girls have all posted multiple-RBI nights, too.
After having such a great record, Jones said Mexico wants to make a deep run. The team also wants to go far after coming so close to its first district championship since 2019 when it lost 9-8 to Macon in last year’s final game.
“I feel like we’re in pretty good shape right now,” Jones said. “The girls are confident, they’re in good spirits and they’re playing loose. They have some redemption on their minds for districts. They’re hungry to win some games and prove themselves as a team, especially with this successful season. As long as we play our game, we should be fine.”
Mexico hopes playing at Gallop Field will give the team an advantage, too. The Lady Bulldogs have played districts in a different town for the last five years, so it will be nice for them that they don’t have to travel far.
“We do well in home games, so the girls feel more confident knowing that we’re going to be able to play in front of our families and community,” Jones said. “The girls take a lot of pride in that.”
“It feels really good to host districts,” Miller said. “It will make us feel more comfortable playing on our home turf.”
