Mexico’s game on Monday looked to be decided by the fourth inning.
The Lady Bulldogs scored nine runs in the first three innings to beat Hallsville 12-5 at home for their first win over …
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Mexico’s game on Monday looked to be decided by the fourth inning.
The Lady Bulldogs scored nine runs in the first three innings to beat Hallsville 12-5 at home for their first win over the Lady Indians since 2019. The five-game losing streak to Hallsville ended largely because of Aleigha Henderson striking out eight in seven innings and picking up three RBIs.
Head coach Hanna Jones said Mexico (4-6) seemed to be confident doing anything on the field, especially on the field. It helped that the Lady Bulldogs scored three runs in the first inning before a six-run third inning, giving them their fourth straight win when they score in the first inning.
“It’s definitely been a significant factor for us to score not always first but at least score in the first inning,” Jones said. “When the girls get at least one run around, they have a little bit more confidence at the plate and feel like they can still keep chipping.”
Jones said Mexico has been doing its job not stranding baserunners and those baserunners have been doing their jobs of putting pressure on the defense. For example, Alyssa Miller walked to be Mexico’s first baserunner against Hallsville (3-5) and then slid into second base on a ground ball to shortstop, who proceeded to make a throwing error to first base.
Hallsville wasn’t able to record at least one out on that play and came up empty early in the third inning. Landri Teel slid into third base ahead of a throw by the shortstop after Hannah Loyd hit a ground ball. The Lady Bulldogs quickly advanced to the next base and even took an extra base.
“I love how aggressive we were on the bases,” Jones said. “That’s what also helps us. If we have a lot of run support, then we can be that much more aggressive on the bases. Sometimes, weird stuff happens and it works out for us. The girls were fearless and weren’t thinking station-to-station.”
Henderson finished 3-for-4 with four runs and two doubles at the plate, and allowed four earned runs on seven hits and five walks in the circle. Scottie Smith went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a double, Payton Shaw had two RBIs and Maddy Feger had a two-RBI triple.
In Henderson’s first two-bats, she didn’t wait around long for a pitch to drive. She crushed the first pitch to the fence both times for doubles.
“I made sure I saw the ball really well and saw it all the way into my bat,” Henderson said.
Henderson’s second double brought home two runs to start the scoring in the third inning. In the top half of the inning, she worked out of a bases-loaded jam that Hallsville set up with two outs. A ground ball made it to the third baseman Shaw, who beat the runner to the base for the forceout.
When Henderson wasn’t in trouble, the Lady Indians swung under a pitch for strike three in multiple at-bats.
“My pitches were really good, especially my riseball,” Henderson said. “My defense behind me was really good today.”
Jones said Henderson was strong mentally while pitching and was excited to see her give length to the lineup along with the length she provided in the circle. Henderson hit in the No. 5 spot in the batting order behind Teel and Loyd.
“Her bat is big in our lineup,” Jones said “For her to go from pitching to turning the dial up for hitting is big for us. She had great approaches, seeing the ball well and hitting the ball hard.”
On Saturday during a round robin tournament at Battle in Columbia, Mexico won two of three games. The Lady Bulldogs beat Marion County 7-2 and Battle 11-1 and lost to Class 4 state champion Father Tolton 6-2 for the second time this season. Against Marion County, Teel went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Feger was 3-for-4 with one RBI and one triple. Against Battle, Loyd was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run, Keerstan Ewing finished 4-for-4 with two RBIs and Payton Sells was 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI.
Mexico (1-0 NCMC) plays at North Central Missouri Conference foe Hannibal (1-5, 0-1 NCMC) at 5 p.m. Thursday and finishes a suspended game at district foe Bowling Green (1-5) at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
