The North Callaway offense just couldn’t break through on Monday in Mexico.

North Callaway at Mexico Photo Gallery

The Thunderbirds had several opportunities for big innings but ultimately lost 7-3 to their Class 4 opponent, grounding into two double plays during the game. North Callaway almost matched Mexico in hits at 9-8 but had some of those erased with double plays in the second and fifth innings.

“Mexico’s pitching and defense was exceptional,” head coach Kirt Kleindienst said. “They threw strikes and caught the ball. The double plays are what hurt us. We had runners on two different innings. Double plays kill you, but overall I’m happy with how that baseball game played out.”

North Callaway (6-4) had scored one run in the second inning on an infield single by Carter Moore, but the inning ended a batter later due to a double play. Then, the first two batters hit safely in the fifth inning only for a double play to take the steam out of a potential big inning that only included one run.

Still, Kleindienst likes how North Callaway responded overall after a rough start since Mexico (8-6) scored five runs on six hits in the first inning. The Thunderbirds had an early hill to climb but then outscored Mexico — who has won four straight — in the second inning after Moore’s RBI. 

“They hit where we weren’t,” Kleindienst said. “From inning two to seven, I was proud the whole game of how we responded. We responded and won the second inning. We stayed in the game right with them, but I say where we failed most is we didn’t match energy levels.”

Brady Fox led Mexico’s stingy defense on the mound with five hits, four strikeouts and one earned run in 4 2/3 innings, inducing both double plays. Cooper Rowe then followed with three strikeouts and one run on three hits in two innings before Drew DeMint shut the door in the seventh inning when the Thunderbirds had two more runners on.

North Callaway has been on an offensive tear as it had won four straight games going into Mexico, scoring 53 runs in that stretch. Kleindienst said the Thunderbirds encountered some different challenges on Monday.

“They had plus velocity, and their offspeed was enough to make those fastballs much more effective,” Kleindienst said. “They really utilized the inside part of the plate with two strikes so we had three strikeouts looking with inside fastballs. One or two times, we had runners on (when that happened).”

Kleindienst said Moore showed “resilience” when he pitched for North Callaway for four innings, finishing with seven runs on eight hits and three walks and four strikeouts. AJ Haubner pitched two shutout innings in relief while allowing two walks and one hit.

Haubner, though, made a bigger difference with the bat as he finished 2-for-3 with two RBI, using one RBI to set up North Callaway with a final two-runner situation in the seventh inning that forced Mexico to make a final pitching change. This happened two days after Haubner recorded his first ever varsity hit.

“Haubner, to keep the stick rolling for him is a confidence boost for him and a blessing for the club,” Kleindienst said. “Seeing him get in a rhythm on the bump and at the plate will be massive for us. I just need him and everybody on the infield to be more assertive, and we’ll be in good shape.”

Caleb Sheets finished 2-for-3 with a double, and Keaton Bell hit a double in the seventh inning after Kleindienst said he had some bad luck at the plate. 

Ultimately, Kleindienst said Moore embodied the quality that all of the Thunderbirds had after falling behind by so much so quickly.

“Carter showed great resiliency after inning one,” Kleindienst said. “It’s frustrating to see balls fly and runs score whenever the ball isn’t going all over the place.”

North Callaway (3-0 EMO) plays at Eastern Missouri Conference foe Elsberry (4-5, 2-0 EMO) at 5 p.m. Thursday.