Mexico softball hasn’t pinned down its starters, but that’s because of a breadth of options.

After falling a big hit short in the district championship game, the Lady Bulldogs want to go further than their 18-11 season. They return their pitching staff and some key hitters on the overall roster of 26 – 13 on varsity.

Head coach Hanna Jones said the defense should be solid and that’s even with the ability for girls to play multiple positions well.

“I have a lot of flexibility of where I can put girls,” Jones said. “People may play multiple positions, but they don’t play them well. I feel like, with a lot of girls, I feel confident in putting them in infield and outfield and moving them around.”

Jones said there is much returning to the defense, but she is still figuring out the long-term answer for leadership positions in centerfield and catcher. She said there is talent to fill those roles, but it is a matter of finding the right fit for them.

Catcher, for example, was locked down for four years by all-state backstop Hannah Loyd. She also brought power to the lineup with a career-high 10 home runs. Jones said Scottie Smith and Isabelle Friedrich are reasonable options behind the plate.

“It’s not easy to fill those shoes,” Jones said. “(Smith) is up for the challenge and rising to be a leader. Isabelle is somebody who has worked really hard to fit the shoes behind the plate.”

Jones said they have worked with the pitchers, which include familiar faces Keerstan Ewing, Aleigha Henderson, Kaitlyn Krietemeyer and Sammie Gipson. Ewing and Henderson have been pitching on varsity since freshman year, and Krietemeyer and Gipson pitched big varsity innings down the stretch.

Krietemeyer will probably have a bigger role on the staff, Jones said, as she is interested in using Henderson more in the outfield. Henderson is one of the key bats returning along with Payton Shaw. Shaw was the top hitter in Mexico’s preseason home run derby, and Henderson was all-conference, all-district and all-region after having 28 RBIs.

“We have some good power hitters with Payton Shaw and Aleigha,” Jones said. “They were big hitters last year, and I see them doing the same thing this year.

Jones said Mexico wants to find out who the best nine in the lineup will be and adapt the defense from there. Some spots need to be figured out such as leadoff, but she said that will be decided eventually.

“It’s going to take some time to figure out a different perspective because some of these girls are probably going to be moved into a different role in the lineup,” Jones said. “It’s going to take some time to see who has better pitch selection and quality at bats.”

Jones said Gipson, Smith and Alyssa Miller should be good returning offensive contributors. Friedrich could be a key newcomer after finishing as softball’s runner-up in the home run derby, possibly filling catcher or outfield.

Jones said the girls are hungry after falling short 9-8 in the district championship game to Macon and believes they will have a similar season as last year.

“Those girls know exactly what it feels like to be in that high-pressure situation,” Jones said. “We have those returners coming back who were clutch. With the experience and being older now, they’re going to have that much more confidence going into postseason games like that.”