The Windham Bombers’ softball team has been searching for answers over the last several years to snap a long stretch of losing seasons but will enter the 2026 spring season with a renewed sense of purpose to right the ship.
“We have a lot to prove as players and coaches,” said Coach Larry Jones. “As you can see, our record has been terrible for the past five or six years, so we are finally feeling like we are trending on the right path to be winners and put our best foot forward.
Following a 5-17 campaign that was marred by several obstacles, including a sudden coaching change near the end of the season when Jones was named as the interim head coach for the final few games.
The Bombers will begin the season with Jones as the full-time head coach, who is already plenty familiar with the program. The 2002 Windham graduate previously served as an assistant coach for the program for three years before being named interim head coach.
“I am very excited,” the first-year coach said. “I have taken on the challenge and have run with it. We run a lot more high-impact drills, game-time speed drills. We are focused on a lot more speed drills. We are focused a lot more on our pitching and hitting. I am very excited with all the hard work that we have been putting in to see some of it pay off.”
According to Jones, one of the Bombers’ biggest goals following the end of last year was improving the team’s defense, which had been plagued with inconsistency.
He said that as the Bombers finished the 2025 season, the defense experienced a significant turnaround. He is eager to see that carry over into the 2026 campaign.
The Larry Jones-era of Windham softball will be anchored by an experienced core of players, as Windham returns eight varsity starters; only one senior graduated. The team is bolstered by a strong underclassman group. Although the Bombers boast six seniors on the roster, only four saw meaningful action last year.
Jones added that the Bombers will be backed by reliable pitching this year, with sophomores Jaiden Moore and Lily Pesa-Garrett being the team’s top two options in the circle.
Moore pitched in only one game last year, hurling 3.0 innings while surrendering five runs (four earned), on two hits while striking out one batter and walking six, while Pesa-Garrett recorded a 6.27 ERA over 51.1 innings of work, striking out 51 batters and issuing 23 walks in 13 games.
Pesa-Garrett will open the season as the Bombers’ primary starter, but Moore is expected to see significant time as well.
“They both want to be the best,” noted Jones. “It is working out perfectly for us. They are competing against each other every day because we put them through a trial during the week. We watch body language. We have put the best girl for that game who we think is the best for the start.”
Sophomore third baseman Kyleigh Simpson returns after hitting .226, driving in eight runs while collecting two doubles and two triples over 21 games.
“She works hard,” Jones said of Simpson. “She is always there, and she is positive, and she is likely the anchor without knowing that she is the anchor. It is very cool to see her grow and develop because she wants to be good.”
One of the Bombers’ returning upperclassmen will be senior first baseman Brielle Jones, who batted .435 while recording 19 RBIs, six doubles, three triples and one home run over 17 games.
“Brielle’s strength is that she is really an all-around player,” Coach Jones said. “She can field, she had a really high fielding percentage, and her bat is just as strong.”
Sophomore Makenna Jones will be the starting catcher, coming on the heels of a freshman season where she hit .353, drove in 20 runs, hit two doubles, 10 triples and one home run over 18 games.
“She is strong. She is still young. She still has a little bit to develop by getting behind those wild pitches, which is one of the things that she is working on now – just trying to get behind those wild pitches and stay on that good wall we need behind the plate. Her bat is also strong,” Coach Jones added.
The Bombers’ season begins when they hit the road to face Canton Central Catholic on Friday evening at 5 p.m.
