|
As young girls growing up in Murrieta, California, they dreamed of of playing on softball's biggest stage. And here they are. On different teams. Sisters Sierra (Michigan) and Sydney Romero (Oklahoma) are in Oklahoma City representing two of the sport's biggest powerhouses at the College World Series, which begins today. "When we were younger, we would practice at 7 p.m. and wouldn’t get home until around 11 because we would stay late to hit," Sydney told Sports Illustrated. "Our focus was always softball," says Sierra. "It was just what my sister and I would do together. It was how we bonded." Sierra Romero, a senior second baseman, is reaching the end of a sterling softball career at Michigan. She is batting .465 with 72 hits, 19 home runs, 78 RBIs and 74 runs scored in 56 games. She became the first player to reach the 300/300/300 plateau in career hits, RBIs and runs. She is the NCAA career leader in runs scored (300) and grand slams (11). She’s also fourth all time in RBIs (304) and slugging percentage (.889) and eighth in home runs (82) and walks (222). Sierra Romero is not only considered by many to be the best player in college softball, she has officially claimed that title. Sydney Romero, meanwhile, is in her freshman year at another powerhouse, Oklahoma. While she hasn't put up quite the numbers of Sierra throughout the season, Sydney has come into her own during the postseason, where she has matched her older sister statistically. It's clear that the Romero sisters, who are Mexican-American and whose grandparents were migrant farm workers, have risen to the top of college softball. "I'll run into a lot of Hispanic fans, and they always tell me how much they love my glove, because I have the Mexican flag on it," said Sierra in a feature on the Big Ten Network. "Telling me how proud they are that I'm representing them. It's really cool to be one of the few Mexican women in Division I." The Sooners were seeded third in the NCAA tournament, with the Wolverines at No. 2 and the highest remaining seed. Florida, the team seeded No. 1, suffered a shocking loss in the regionals to Georgia and was eliminated. Auburn, Florida State, UCLA, Alabama and LSU are the other teams in the College World Series. The Romero sisters will face each other in bracket play, which is double elimination. Follow all the softball action with espnW.
|
