Softball didn’t always seem like it would work out for Crane seniors Shay and Addison Blair.
“We cried when my mom first said she signed us up for softball,” Shay said.
“They were not a pitcher-catcher duo by any means,” said Shay and Addison’s mom, Megan Blair. “Their dad really wanted them to be, but they couldn’t get along.”
So, the Blair twins were put at first and third base, but that didn’t seem to work either.
“Throwing across the diamond at her, we were picky with each other and we still are,” Shay said.
Eventually, the girls made their dad’s wish come true: Becoming a pitcher and catcher duo. They have started in every single game this season, but don’t be fooled, it’s not always smooth sailing for these Lady Pirates.
“When [Shay] gets mad, she plays ten times better,” Addison said.
“Same with [Addison], it’s the weirdest thing,” Shay said. “We make each other mad, she throws harder, I throw harder. We produce more outs.”
The Blair twins say that twin telepathy helps on the field.
“I’ve turned over calling pitches to Shay, our catcher, and she calls the game,” said Crane Head Coach Mike Morelock.
“When I call pitches sometimes she has a different opinion, but she can’t really tell me that from the mound. We will have gestures and stuff that we will use. It is the weirdest thing, we didn’t plan them but I can read her and her body language and whether she wants to throw a pitch or not.”
It’s working as the Crane Lady Pirates are 7-1 to start the season, including the duo combining for a 5-inning no-hitter last week.
Between the bickering, there are happy moments too.
“If I tell her to throw a changeup, and it’s a changeup and it is the third out of the inning, it’s almost celebratory for the both of us,” Shay said. “Like we get to celebrate that together like we just did that we got out of the inning.”
“After the game, we are just the best of friends because we just did that,” Addison said.
So it seems softball didn’t turn out so bad for the Blair twins after all.
