Bloomfield SB gained invaluable experience to build upon in 2025

With only 11 players on her 2024 spring roster, veteran Bloomfield High School softball coach Charlotte Phillips couldn’t afford to graduate much as the program looks ahead to 2025. The Wildcats will lose their middle infield in shortstop Mollianne Dodd and second baseman Scarlett Goodin, but Phillips does return everyone else from a team that played for the MSHSAA Class 1 District 3 championship.

“I think the future looks good,” Phillips said. “Next year, I have some eighth graders coming up and they are strong.”

The Wildcats won eight games this spring, which was the most since 2021, and they did that behind the pitching of sophomore Kendall Phillips, the daughter of Charlotte, who was recently named to the All-Stoddard County Athletic Association squad.

“This is my second year coaching her,” Phillips said of managing her daughter on the mound and at the plate. “I’m proud of her. She’s an athlete. It doesn’t really matter who is coaching her, she is going to step up and she is going to do the job in the (pitching) circle.

“She has grit and plays with heart. She is just an all-around player.”

As the spring wound down, Bloomfield began to play its best softball, particularly offensively.

Aside from the shutout loss in the District championship game to eventual MSHSAA State semifinalist Bernie, Bloomfield scored a combined 49 runs in the five games leading into the title game.

“We started to hit the ball,” Phillips said. “The players have good hearts, and they work hard.”

As this spring evolved, Phillips was moving players around to find the right combination of defensive ability, which came together late in the season. That will continue next year, as the incoming eighth graders are expected to “help in the outfield,” according to Phillips, and she’ll need to find athletes to play in the heart of her infield.

Sophomore Kilee Schott gained experience catching this spring, while sophomore Lilith Webb played both first base and in left field.

Sophomore Maybree Miller spent time at third base while sophomore Hannah Watson (center field), freshman Evelyn Pellett (right field), and sophomore Leilani Hall (first base and left field) also got significant playing time.

Bloomfield freshmen Ariel Lewis and Jasmine Reed also return next season.

“This year,” Phillips said, “they just took a spot and played to the best of their abilities.

“We may not have the most talent, but we had the biggest hearts out there and that has made a difference.”