Texas high school softball national power shatters major national HR record in jaw-dropping fashion

Led by a lineup of power-hitters and an undefeated streak, this dominant Texas squad just rewrote the national high school record books in unforgettable style

Paisley Needham smashed a solo home run with no outs in the top of the third inning on Thursday, May 8 in a 13-1 win against Midlothian. The home run was No. 1 Melissa's 106th blast of the season, setting a new UIL national high school single season record. / Oladipo Awowale

The 2025 Melissa (Texas) Lady Cardinals softball program, ranked No. 1 in the nation, will always be able to say that for at least one pitch in their lifetime they were tied for the all-time UIL national high school record for home runs in a season. 

That’s because, two pitches after Izzy Gonzales tied the record in the third inning, Paisley Needham untied it. 

Pro tip: If you plan to drive your car to a Melissa Lady Cardinals softball game, it would be wise to check out your insurance before you go. It’s almost always hailing softballs when the Lady Cardinals are in town. 

Ranked No. 1 in the nation at 33-0, the Lady Cardinals do not just keep insurance providers up at night; they make pitchers pay, too. 

During Thursday’s UIL Texas Class 5A Division I area round showdown between Melissa and Midlothian, Needham and the Lady Cardinals made history. Gonzales led off the top of the third with her 10th home run of the season, tying the team UIL national record for home runs in a season with 105. Needham fouled off a pitch and then deposited a long home run to left, also her 10th of the year. 

The back-to-back jacks gave the Lady Cardinals 106 collectively, unseating Louisiana’s North DeSoto (Stonewall), who capped the previous mark of 105 home runs in 2022. They're all alone in first place, too, after Caigan Crabtree homered in the fifth, her 16th of the season and the teams 107th on the year. Canyon (Texas) sits in third place all-time with 82 home runs in 2017.

The pace in which they broke the record might be the most staggering stat of all. North DeSoto needed six more games (39) to get there. 

Looking back, the Lady Cardinals certainly detailed their intentions from the very beginning. They hit seven home runs in the season opener against Centennial on Feb. 13, including three by star Hutton “LuLu” Adrian. 

They played twice the following day, Feb. 14, and hit a combined eight home runs in games against John Paul II and Richardson. They had already hit 20 home runs just four games into the season and they homered at least once in each of their first five games. 

Izzy Gonzales (center) led off the top of the third inning in Thursday's game with her 10th home run of the season. The blast tied Melissa for the UIL national record for home runs in a season by a team. The record was broken two pitches later on a home run by Paisley Needham. / Oladipo Awowale

Speaking of eight home runs, they smacked a season-high eight homers on March 28 in an 18-0 win against Greenville. Kennedy Bradley (committed to Florida) hit three home runs that day, Gonzales and Crabtree (Texas) hit two apiece, and Needham added another. 

Melissa hit at least one home run in 30 of its first 33 games, homered in 22 of its last 23 games, and has at least two home runs in 27 of those 33 contests. The Lady Cardinals have hit at least five home runs in seven games and hit four home runs in a game six different times. 

They have had 15 multi-homer games this season, including four multi-home run games apiece by Bradley and Crabtree, three by Adrian and two by Finlee Williams. Both Adrian and Bradley each have hit three home runs in a game once this season. 

Adrian, coming off a team-high 22 home runs last season, hit five home runs in her first two games and has 15 of them this year. It’s an impressive total but still only good enough for third place on the team. 

Bradley leads the squad with 23 homers (after hitting 20 last season), while Crabtree (who also had 20 last year) and Williams have 16 apiece. Gonzales and Needham are tied with 10 home runs, while Rihanna Wheeler has seven, Amariee “Shug” Bradford six, Gabby Kuehler two, and Hattie Winter and Emerson Mabry have one each. 

After winning the first game of the best-of-three series against Midlothian on Thursday, the Lady Cardinals are guaranteed at least two more games to try adding to their record total. Play resumes in the Class 5A Division I series against Midlothian on Friday.

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2025 Melissa Cardinals: Game-by-game road to the national home run record

Date	Result	Home runs hit
Thu., Feb. 13	Melissa 17, Centennial 1	7: Rihanna Wheeler, Hutton "LuLu" Adrian 3, Izzy Gonzales; Finlee Williams 2
Fri., Feb. 14	Melissa 9, John Paul II 5	5: Paisley Needham, LuLu Adrian 2, Finlee Williams 2
Fri., Feb. 14	Melissa 23, Richardson 0	3: Rihanna Wheeler 2, Izzy Gonzales
Sat., Feb. 15	Melissa 10, Royse City 4	5: Paisley Needham, Kennedy Bradley, LuLu Adrian 2, Finlee Williams
Sat., Feb. 15	Melissa 4, Marcus 3	1: Rihanna Wheeler
Mon. Feb. 17	Melissa 1, Midway 0	0:
Sat., Feb. 22	Melissa 12, Flower Mound 0	4: Paisley Needham, Kennedy Bradley 2, Finlee Williams
Sat., Feb. 22	Melissa 14, Plano 4	3: Kennedy Bradley, Finlee Williams 2
Tue., Feb. 25	Melissa 15, Rockwall 0	3: Amariee "Shug" Bradford, Kennedy Bradley, Finlee Williams
Thu., Feb. 27	Melissa 9, Rockwall 0	0:
Thu., Feb. 27	Melissa 18, Rowlett 1	3: Rihanna Wheeler, Kennedy Bradley, Izzy Gonzales
Fri., Feb. 28	Melissa 12, Reedy 0	2: Caigan Crabtree, LuLu Adrian
Fri., Feb. 28	Melissa 8, Lubbock-Cooper 0	3: Caigan Crabtree 2, Hattie Winter
Sat., Mar. 1	Melissa 9, Rains 0	2: Caigan Crabtree, Finlee Williams
Thu., Mar. 4	Melissa 15, Greenville 0	1: Kennedy Bradley
Fri. Mar. 7	Melissa 16, Sherman 0	4: Caigan Crabtree, Paisley Needham, Kennedy Bradley 2
Tue., Mar. 11	Melissa 15, Anna 0	5: Shug Bradford 2, Izzy Gonzales, Kennedy Bradley, Finlee Williams
Fri. Mar. 14	Melissa 15, Denison 0	3: Kennedy Bradley, LuLu Adrian, Finlee Williams
Tue., Mar. 18	Melissa 10, Lovejoy 0	3: Caigan Crabtree, Kennedy Bradley, LuLu Adrian
Fri., Mar. 21	Melissa 24, McKinney North 0	6: Caigan Crabtree 2, Kennedy Bradley, Rihanna Wheeler, LuLu Adrian, Finlee Williams
Tue., Mar. 25	Melissa 8, Walnut Grove 4	3: Paisley Needham, Izzy Gonzales, LuLu Adrian
Fri., Mar. 28	Melissa 18, Greenville 0	8: Caigan Crabtree 2, Paisley Needham, Izzy Gonzales 2, Kennedy Bradley 3
Tue., Apr. 1	Melissa 15, Sherman 0	3: Caigan Crabtree 2, Emerson Mabry
Fri., Apr. 4	Melissa 22, Anna 0	4: Kennedy Bradley 2, LuLu Adrian, Finlee Williams
Tue., Apr. 8	Melissa 15, Denison 0	0:
Fri., Apr. 11	Melissa 10, Lovejoy 0	4: Caigan Crabtree, Paisley Needham, Izzy Gonzales, Finlee Williams
Fri. Apr. 14	Melissa 16, McKinney North 0	4: Gabby Kuehler, Shug Bradford, Kennedy Bradley, Rihanna Wheeler
Fri. Apr. 18	Melissa 17, Walnut Grove 3	4: Caigan Crabtree, Gabby Kuehler, Shug Bradford, LuLu Adrian
Sat. Apr. 19	Melissa 5, Bentonville 3	1: Paisley Needham
Wed., Apr. 23	Melissa 13, Texas 1	5: Caigan Crabtree, Paisley Needham, Izzy Gonzales, Kennedy Bradley, Finlee Williams
Fri., Apr., 25	Melissa 12, Texas 1	3: Shug Bradford, Kennedy Bradley, LuLu Adrian
Fri., May 2	Melissa 10, Wakeland 0	2: Kennedy Bradley 2
Thu. May 8	Melissa 13, Midlothian 1	3: Caigan Crabtree, Paisley Needham, Izzy Gonzales

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2025 Melissa Lady Cardinals softball home run leaders

Player	Total HR
Kennedy Bradley	23
Finlee Williams	16
Caigan Crabtree	16
Hutton "Lulu" Adrian	15
Izzy Gonzales	10
Paisley Needham	10
Rihanna Wheeler	7
Amariee "Shug" Bradford	6
Gabby Kuehler	2
Hattie Winter	1
Emerson Mabry	1

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