By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Hannah and Olivia Christian are twins, but they’re not identical twins.
“I’m a lot more clean than her,” Hannah said of her eight minutes older sister. “She’s very messy. She just leaves clothes everywhere. I pick them up and put them in (with) the dirty clothes … when they’re in my space.”
Olivia says she is the sillier sister.
“I’m definitely a lot more goofy than her sometimes,” she said. “She (Hannah) gives off a lot more serious demeanor. I give off a lot more like silly.”
And Hannah tends to be more feisty than her sister. “I’m really laid back and chill,” Olivia said. “The second I show that kind of emotion, OK, this is serious.”
But there’s one space where the twins resemble one another the most – on the softball diamond.
“We’re both really, really competitive,” Hannah said.
While the Christians play different positions — Hannah is an outfielder and Olivia is a pitcher — they are equally determined to achieve success, which is what they and their Hoover High School softball teammates have done this season.
This year’s Bucs are among the best squads in the state, ranked No. 3 in Class 7A in the April 11 Alabama Sports Writers Association poll. They entered last weekend with a 28-4-1 record.
The Christians, who have signed with the University of Southern Mississippi, aren’t the only twins on the team. There are also the Westhoven sisters – senior Haley, a pitcher, and Lindsey, a catcher – and Isabelle Andre, who has a twin brother, William.
There are two other siblings in the Davis sisters – senior outfielder Ki Davis and sophomore first baseman Avi Davis.
The Christians aren’t the only Bucs who are set to take their game to the next level. Ki Davis is headed to Alabama A&M University and shortstop Bella Foran is going to Florida Atlantic University. Corner infielder Mckenzie “Mac” Stribling, who’s been out with an injury, has signed with Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.
Following Mom’s Footsteps
The Christians might be unique in that they are a second generation of Hoover softball players. Their mother Amanda played as a freshman for longtime Hoover coach Jim Brown. She put the twins on the basepath toward softball.
“They always loved to play and they were very active as kids,” Amanda Christian said. “I loved playing softball when I was growing up, so I thought that they would enjoy it.
“Coach Brown had his Hoover High School team putting on a camp at the recreational park. I took the girls out there. They were very nervous to get on the field, but they did and they really loved it.”
Hannah remembers the two of them playing softball at age 5.
“It started out as just a rec league for Hoover,” she said. “That year, we ended up playing on the all-star team and we won a state championship in 6-u (under).”
Olivia said there are six members of that team of tykes who are on the current Hoover High team.
“We’re really looking to repeat history,” Hannah said.
Hoover coach Trey Matlock said pitching is the Bucs’ strength this season. They have a three-player rotation of right-hander Olivia Christian, left-hander Haley Westhoven and junior Kaitlyn Raines.
“We rotate through our pitchers all season long,” Matlock said. “We share innings. We’re gonna need all three of them down the stretch. We’re not going to be able to rely on just one or two arms.”
Olivia said her father Chad Christian introduced her to the pitcher’s circle.
“Since I was little, my dad was like, ‘Try this,’” she said. “We stuck with it and kept going out and we kept practicing. One day, I kind of got the hang of it. I just kept trying and I fell in love with it.”
Olivia’s pitching arsenal includes a curveball and a change-up.
“She’s good in the circle,” Matlock said. “A lot of times she’ll get ahead in the count. One of our biggest goals, things that we try to stress is trying to get ahead in the count. She’s always wanting to be in the circle, throwing against the opponents and everything. (Those) sisters are always putting in the extra work, doing what they need to do to get better.”
Olivia finished the first week of April with a 14-1 record, 2.00 ERA and 63 strikeouts. At the plate, she had a .330 batting average with two doubles, two home runs and 28 RBI.
As the leadoff hitter, Hannah Christian sets the table for the rest of the batting order. She was hitting .515 with 10 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 27 RBI and 44 runs scored.
“She just works a lot harder,” Matlock said. “She’s the one who always takes extra cuts. She works hard as far as getting more reps in. She just goes above and beyond to get to where she needs to be. She studies the game and does it well.”
Inseparable Bond
The Bucs are scheduled to finish the regular season this week. On April 8, they held Senior Night, a milestone event the Christians had long awaited.
“When I was a freshman and the seniors would have their Senior Night, I was like, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to do that one day,’” Olivia reminisced. “I’ve got so much time.”
“Yeah,” Hannah followed, “it definitely seemed like it was just so far away.”
Added Olivia: “Now we’re here and it’s like, Whoa.”
A constant of the lifelong journey is that the sisters have had one another.
“We’ve been best friends our whole life,” said Hannah, who’s more likely to drive their red Jeep. “We definitely couldn’t be here without each other. Going to college, we’re really glad to have each other and to experience it with each other.”
