Avery and Sydney Stewart are sisters on the Seymour softball team. They have formed a battery in a few games these past two seasons with Avery pitching and Sydney catching.
Arv Koontz | The Tribune
We all know of families where sisters just don’t get along.
That is not true with the Stewarts of Seymour and the Singletons of Brownstown.
The sisters are teammates on their respective high school softball teams and enjoy one another’s company. Sydney Stewart is a senior and Avery is a sophomore on the Owls roster, while Emily and Erin are twins on the Brownstown Central roster.
Sydney and Avery have formed the battery for Seymour in some games this season and last. Avery said she prefers to have her sister behind the plate when she is pitching.
“I feel I can trust her a lot behind the plate,” Avery said.
Sydney has been the Owls’ starting catcher for most of the past two seasons.
“I like being in charge of the field, seeing everything, helping the pitchers out, all the communication and leadership behind the plate,” she said. “I’ve called pitches a little bit this season. Usually, one of our assistant coaches calls them, but I’ve called some games, mainly games Avery has pitched.”
Ben Stewart, the sisters’ father, is an assistant softball coach with the Owls.
“It has been fun (having her father and
a sister on the team),” Sydney said. “I love getting to catch Avery, being there for her and helping her out. I can also point out the things that she needs to improve on. We kind of go back-and-forth and use that to help each other and get better. We work pretty well together.”
Sydney will play softball at Mount St. Joseph College in Cincinnati next year. This year they won their conference and won regional for the first time in program history. The Lions lost in the super regional and finished the season 34-12.
“I think the main goal is for me to catch there. I started catching in 10U,” Sydney said. “I started with catching lessons with Chauncey Bell up in Indianapolis. She helped me a lot.”
Sydney enjoys batting.
“It’s easier for me to see the spin on the ball and the way it’s coming in,” she said. “When I’m up to bat, I try not to think about what pitch she is going to throw me. I just go up there and think about hitting the ball.”
For Avery, she enjoyed having her older sister behind the plate.
“I just feel comfortable (with Sydney catching),” she said. “When I have a different catcher behind the plate, I feel more nervous because I don’t trust them as much as my own sister because I’m with her all the time. She’s my best friend, she’s my catcher and we have a really tight bond. The family part is fun, but
my dad is always super hard on me, so that’s not fun, but he means well, and he helps me out a lot.”
She said her favorite pitches to throw are a drop ball or a curveball.
“We think a lot of the same things, so that works pretty well, too,” Avery said. “What I enjoy about pitching is I feel I can control a lot of the game, like the pitch count and stuff like that. I feel I have so much control over it, so if I’m doing well, I feel like the team does well. I feel if I’m doing bad, I feel like the team does bad. It gets nerve-racking a lot because the pressure is on your shoulders, but that is the fun part about it.“
Sydney has concentrated on softball at SHS, but Avery also has been a member of the swim team.
At Brownstown, Emily Singleton bats left, usually hits second and wears No. 8. Erin bats right, normally hits third and wears No. 9.
Both of them played volleyball and softball together throughout their careers at BCHS, and the recent sectional at Corydon was their last sectional together.
“I’ve loved the connection that Erin and I have just because we’ve played with each other, know each other and we’re with each other all the time,” Emily said. “We can rely on each other, and I think that’s really important.”
She said in both of her sports, she has enjoyed the family atmosphere she gets from her teammates.
“I love softball. It’s my favorite sport,” she said. “I’ve always been a catcher. I played some outfield. I caught about half the games last year, but I’ve caught every game this year.”
Emily calls the pitches, working a lot in warmups and seeing what pitches are on for that day.
“Knowing what batters we’re facing and look at what their weaknesses are and just attack them at the plate,” she said. “I love being a leader on the field, and I really get to take control of the game and help my teammates.”
She enjoys batting, playing more of a “small ball” role with her speed and slap hitting the ball. She had a few triples this season, though.
Emily said she enjoyed her volleyball career, where she helped the Braves win sectional titles her junior and senior years.
“It’s fun always having that person that you can go to, always having a partner for comfort,” she said.
They said they had a lot of classes together, but they did not drive to school together, as they were both in school-to-work programs in the afternoons and needed their own transportation.
Emily will attend St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in the fall and play softball there.
Erin was the Braves‘ regular shortstop this spring.
“This was my first year playing just shortstop,” she said. “Last year and my freshman year, I played second base and shortstop, as well. I love defense. That’s probably my favorite part. I’ve definitely increased my range a lot this year. I really worked hard in the offseason, as well. I’ve gotten balls I normally didn’t get to and make a play on it. I’ve dived for a few of them.”
Erin hit third in the order for the Braves this spring.
“I want to get on base,” she said. “I’m a base-hit batter. Even if I did get out, I was looking to place the ball where the runners could advance or even score. I do not slap at all. I tried to hit the ball in the gaps.”
Erin described her approach at the plate and how the scouting report on each pitcher helps.
“I know a lot of the girls that do pitch on other teams that we play, so I kind of know getting into the box whether they’re going to pitch or not, and then we look at the scouting report to see how many first-pitch strikes they throw, whether there are any change-ups on their first pitch or not,” she said. “We look a lot at that. I look at their hand when they’re pitching and I can kind of tell the spin, what’s coming next. I try not to focus a lot on it, but I just want to know what’s coming. I don’t want to overexert myself to hit that pitch because you never know.”
Erin was a member of the 2019 volleyball team that won the state title.
“It was fun seeing the whole community come to that match. That was awesome,” she said.
She enjoys having a sister as a teammate.
“I’ve never gone to a practice alone,” she said. “I know what to expect because I’ve got someone to go with.”
Erin said playing in the sectional last week was bittersweet.
“We’ve got a good team. We’ve got a fun team, as well, so even if we do not play our best game, we’re always going to have fun before and after,” she said. “We’re going to drown in our losses and we’re going to go high on our wins. We always bounce back pretty easily.”
She said being involved in athletics at BCHS has made her grow so much.
“I feel being involved more in athletics makes me more involved in school, as well, and that’s a big part,” she said.
Erin will attend Manchester University and play softball there.
Other Seymour spring sports family connections
Softball
Camryn, Kendrick Sterling: Sisters
Phoebe, Nick Underwood: Daughter, assistant coach
Baseball
Braden, Jeremy, Justin Richey: Son, head coach, assistant coach
Charlie, Jason Longmeier: Son, assistant coach
Bret, Tim Perry: Son, assistant coach
Baseball-tennis
Dylan, Caroline Thompson: Brother, sister
Baseball-track and field
Brady, Hayley Harpe: Brother, sister
Tennis
Carley, Claire Sanders: Sisters
Tennis-golf
Liza, Ty Stuckwisch: Twins
Golf
Trevor, Ethan Alberring: Brothers
Tennis-track and field
Ava, Lillian, Spencer Sunbury: Daughter, daughter, head coach
Track and field
Page, Adan Mora: Sister, brother
Wesley, William, Michael Proffer: Brothers
Ben, Miracle Marks: Brother, sister
Elan, Ashlyn Henderson: Brother, sister
Track and field-unified track and field
Caitlin, Delaney Thomasma: Sisters
Mollie, Aleia, Mattie Findley: Sisters, Mollie and Mattie are twins
Unified track and field
Andrew, Audrey Wiggam: Brother, sister
Anne, Rachel Lenart: Sisters
Other Brownstown Central spring sports family connections
Baseball
Lane, Wyatt Steward: Brothers
Softball
Rylin, Kyndle Huddleston: Sisters
Golf
Connor, Caiden Gwin: Brothers
Golf-tennis
Smith, Hannah Hackman: Brother, sister
Softball-track and field
Sophie, Aidan Wayt: Brother, sister
Track and field
Chance, Shane Ratliff: Twins
Landon, Liberty Wilkins: Brother, sister
Crothersville
Track and field
Kennadi, Kiarra Lakins: Sisters
Carl, Marc Bowman: Father, son coaches
Baseball
Lucas, Eric Hilton: Son, head coach
Trinity Lutheran
Baseball-softball
Nathan, Amanda Finke: Brother, sister
Kowan, Kamzi, Herb Goss: Brother, sister, assistant coach
Baseball-track and field
Luke, Marley Coomler: Brother, sister
Softball
Bailey, Bob Tabeling: Daughter, head coach
Dianna, Orlando Munoz: Daughter, assistant coach
Baseball-softball
Cole, Morgan Brewer: Brother, sister
Golf
Jacob, Doug Sabotin: Son, head coach
Tennis
Sarah, Julie Lemming: daughter, mother