Playing softball is so important to sisters Erica and Jessica Ketner that it’s almost as necessary as breathing to their lives.
Both start for St. Mary-of-the-Woods’ team, which will compete in the U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) national tournament today and Saturday at Mattoon, Ill.
Erica, a 22-year-old senior, plays third base and some catcher. Jessica, 21 and a junior, is the shortstop.
Both are key contributors offensively. Erica is batting .418 with three home runs and 18 runs batted in, while Jessica is batting .327 with two homers and 12 RBIs.
But rattling off statistics doesn’t begin to tell the story about these softball addicts.
Erica started playing at Terre Haute’s Miss Softball America complex when she was 5, then little Jessica joined the program the next year.
Erica’s first MSA coach was Arlene Clatfelter, a former women’s fastpitch standout with the Terre Haute Chevettes. The sisters were on different teams during their first few years in the sport, but father Keith Ketner moved Jessica up in age group so they’d be able to play on the same teams together.
“It was good for me because she was always looking out for me,” recalled Jessica, who enjoyed playing on the same teams with Erica. “We got along so well.”
“Softball’s always been in our family,” Erica Ketner said. “Members of our family played at the [Terre Haute Softball] Stadium on First Street. When we were kids, we’d chase foul balls and play catch there.”
When they grew up, they each played four seasons — three together — for coach Dee Gosnell at Terre Haute South High School.
“It was awesome,” said Erica, a 2003 South graduate. “My senior year, she got moved into the infield with me, so that was pretty cool.”
With Jessica having one more year at South, Erica decided to take her athletic talents to The Woods.
“I knew they always had a good softball program,” she explained. “Plus, I had played with and against several of their players, who I knew were good players.”
Erica specifically mentioned her appreciation of current teammates Ashley Loomis and Amanda Daniel, whom she had battled against for so many years as youths.
When Jessica Ketner prepared to graduate from South in 2004, choosing a college wasn’t terribly difficult. She followed in her older sister’s footsteps.
They even have the same major — elementary education. Erica plans to graduate in January 2008 after she completes her student teaching.
“I don’t know what kept [NCAA] Division I people from recruiting Erica,” said Gary Rodgers, who’s wrapping up his first season as The Woods’ coach. “She is just an outstanding player. Jess is too. They’re two good athletes and they’re mainstays of this ballclub.”
As a freshman and sophomore, Erica played on back-to-back Woods teams that captured USCAA national championships at LaGrange, Ga. Jessica played on the second of those teams.
Last year, the Pomeroys finished runner-up to Robert Morris-Springfield in the national tournament at Mattoon.
“We played five games in one day,” Erica recalled. “We were all pretty tired.”
This year, Jessica wants to win her second national title, which would be Erica’s third.
“I’m really wanting to do it for her more than for myself,” Jessica emphasized. “It’s gotta be hard knowing it’s your last year of college softball.”
Ready for the inevitable, Erica figures she’ll probably give Jessica a big hug after their last game together, regardless of how it ends.
“It’ll be kinda weird,” the older Ketner sister admitted, “but I think it’ll really hit me when next season rolls around and I feel like I’m supposed to be playing.”
By next spring, Rodgers will undoubtedly wish Erica was still on the Pomeroys’ roster. “Erica is someone we’ve had to look really hard for a recruit to replace her,” he said.
Even when Erica is finished with collegiate softball, the sisters will have plenty to do together. They’ll support their younger sister, Danielle Ketner, who plays for Terre Haute North.
They also plan to play slowpitch softball together someday.
And they’ll probably reminisce about the tough wins and crushing losses they experienced.
“We’ve always been competitive,” stressed Erica, who added that she and Jessica never worried about whose stats were better between them. “I’m really hard on her sometimes because I know how much ability she has.”
Reflecting on her years of competitive softball, Erica acknowledged that they wouldn’t have been the same without Jessica.
“There were times when we didn’t get along,” Erica said. “But all in all, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224; by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.
Hughes News & Views
Hughes, News & Views: The Woods' Erica and Jessica Ketner prepare to play together for last time
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