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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Kloeanne Smith (1) catches a throw at second base.
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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Abigail Box (3) swings at a pitch. Smith and Box are two of Homewood’s top returning hitters and should be poised for productive 2024 seasons.
The Homewood High School softball program is looking to build off the momentum of last spring’s run to the Class 6A regional tournament.
In 2023, the Patriots finished second in their area behind Mountain Brook and even made it to the second day of regionals by winning a game at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville.
Homewood graduated three seniors from that team and has many of its top players back.
“We’re still young, but everybody’s been working really hard,” Homewood head coach Arica Moss said. “We had a good offseason and we’re looking forward to getting some live games in.”
This year’s team has no seniors. Madison Letson, Kloeanne Smith, Allie Stuman and Abigail Box were statistically the Patriots’ top four hitters a season ago and are back in the fold.
“We’ve got a lot of young girls that are key players,” Moss said.
Moss said she expects Box, a second baseman, to be one of the team’s top players and leaders after seeing her develop over the last couple years. Box is one of four juniors, along with Julia Dabney, Ava Robinson and Mia Gonzalez.
Gonzalez is new to the program and someone Moss said will play multiple positions and can provide innings in the circle as well. Robinson is fresh off the basketball court and new to the Homewood program after transferring from Vestavia Hills. Dabney is up from the junior varsity squad this spring as well and plays in the outfield.
Isabelle Bowden, Egan Ferguson, Talley Hatcher and Lauren Smith are sophomores on the team.
Much will be expected from the freshman class, as Letson, Smith, Stuman and Elise Meacham are ninth graders. Grace Pilgrim was one of the team’s top pitchers last year and is now in eighth grade, along with another pitcher in Anne Hope Howell.
With so many team members having played a significant amount of time last spring and being asked to produce in key moments, Moss believes that will continue to pay dividends moving forward.
“They’ve just got to work through dealing with that pressure of being so young,” she said. “There’s a big learning curve of learning how to handle that pressure, but also not letting it be an excuse.”
Moss has seen the bright spots and believes the team has the potential to take the next step this spring.
“They’re young, but they’re going to be able to handle things a lot better this year,” she said. “They’ve got a year experience under their belt, even though they’re eighth graders and freshmen. I have high expectations.”
Olivia Moody, Tiffany Garvin, Eric Stuman, Wayne Sheets and Diana Taylor are also assisting with the program this spring.
Homewood will play the likes of Clay-Chalkville, Pelham, Briarwood, Wenonah, Pleasant Grove, Ramsay and John Carroll, ahead of area play against Mountain Brook, Shades Valley and Woodlawn.
The Patriots will also play in tournaments at Leeds, Spain Park and Calera.
