Texas high school softball home run leaders: Versatile duo lead state leaderboard with 18 dingers

The high school softball home run leaders in Texas are more than sluggers. Junior Desirae Spearman, of Hanks (El Paso) and senior Samantha Hood of Allen have each belted 18 homers as of April 19 but each do so much more.

Spearman, a pitcher and shortstop, is batting .621 with a state-best 70 runs (14 more than anyone else), 57 RBI and 25 stolen bases. On the mound, she's 11-1 with a 0.89 ERA and 133 strikeouts in 70.2 innings. Her Knights are 31-3 and ranked No. 38 in the state.

Hood, a Wichita State signee, is batting .462 with 42 hits, 56 RBI and 27 stolen bases for the 18-11-2 Eagles. She's also the team's starting shortstop and relief pitcher who has recorded 65 assists and 50 putouts.

But what makes both players stand out is their ability to round the bases with a single swing. Hood has homered in 13 games, five times hitting two dingers in a single game. Spearman is coming off a three-homer performance in a 27-0 win over Canutillo on Tuesday. She's homered in 15 games.  

Spearman and Hood have a three-homer lead over Amanda Valdiviezo, of Parkland (El Paso), Hailey Van Beekum, of Idalou, and Hanna Wells, a freshman from Coahoma, who each have hit 15 round-trippers. As of Tuesday, 75 players in Texas have hit at least seven home runs. The national leader is Corine Poncho of Louisiana with 29 (see video above).

MaxPreps compiles leaderboards from statistics supplied by high school coaches from throughout the state and country.