The 2024 seasons are under way for the Houston High School baseball and softball teams.
Both squads had fine showings in 2023, with the softball team winning the Class 2 District 3 championship (its second straight district title) after earning a share of the South Central Association conference crown, and the baseball team winning 20 games and falling just short in a hard-fought and intense Class 3 District 9 championship game against county rival and eventual Class 3 state champion Licking.
But 2024 presents a new challenge to both HHS teams, as their rosters are minus a significant number of key players who graduated. Subsequently, both groups must rely on players who have been waiting their turns for a season or two to step up and make the most of the opportunity presented to them.
And while youth will play a role for both outfits, some of those players-in-waiting are upperclassmen who have remained steadfast and worked hard at practices while their teammates were on the field in varsity action on gameday.
Even though I’ve been around both teams’ situations for several seasons, I don’t have a solid feel for what to expect this year – other than lots of grit and effort, a constantly competitive approach and the likelihood of some good results. But one thing I’m pretty sure of is that pitching will be a key aspect of both teams’ seasons.
On the baseball side, there are a host of hurlers who can “bring it,” so to speak, so it’s not surprising that head coach Brent Hall figures that will be the Diamond Tigers’ strong point. And it’s safe to say that at any level of baseball, that’s a good thing to have as a strong point.
I believe the team’s offense will be pretty darn productive this year, too, because there are at least a half-dozen guys who are capable of consistent success at the plate and another bunch who might be, but haven’t had the swings yet to show it.
On the softball side, there will be much more of a pitching-by-committee approach than in recent years, which will undoubtedly be interesting to observe as it plays out. But that’s potentially a positive element, too, because having pitchers to back up other pitchers can never be a bad thing, and having several who can be called upon with confidence – rather than only one or two – can be a nice weapon for a coach to have.
As far as offense goes, I’m intrigued by seeing how the Lady Tigers follow up on last year’s incredible display of power, during which the team bashed a whopping 26 home runs, with eight different players hitting two or more. I can’t imagine that happening again any time soon, but as head coach Jim Moore would surely tell you, it’s not necessarily crucial anyway; winning can often come down to simply getting runners on base and moving them along, and then getting good enough pitching and fielding to attain the desired outcome.
Whatever the case, there are some things that HHS baseball and softball fans can count on this spring: There will be big hits, great plays and huge pitches, as well as confounding mistakes, missed opportunities and big disappointments. All of that just goes with the territory whenever games are played where four bases laid out in the shape of a diamond are involved.
Here’s an interesting piece of HHS baseball trivia that Hall recently shared with me: Last year marked the first time in his 27-year tenure that a Tiger squad actually won 20 games. He said there were two other years when a team of his finished with 20 wins to its credit, but on both occasions, one victory came by way of Stoutland forfeiting due to using ineligible players. So the 2023 season was the first in which a Hall-coached Houston squad literally won 20 games.
That’s pretty cool.
See you at the fields.
Doug Davison is a writer, photographer and newsroom assistant for the Houston Herald. Email: ddavison@houstonherald.com.
