WESTMINSTER – Kristen Hong has always closely followed in her sister’s footsteps.
When she was 6, Hong decided she wanted to play softball like Rachel, four years her senior.
As they grew up, Hong frequently tried to outdo her older sister. They made up competitions where they’d take turns pitching to their dad, each trying to pitch the most strikes in a simulated game.
When Rachel played on a club team in high school, then-eighth-grader Kristen made the same team and batted leadoff while playing against bigger and older girls.
Now a junior, Kristen is a first-team All-Golden West League performer and three-year starter at Westminster. With 30 hits this season, she is among the leaders in the county.
Rachel pitches and plays second base at the University of La Verne.
Kristen is still following closely in her sister’s footsteps – hoping to make her own foray into collegiate softball after she graduates next year. Also a pitcher and second baseman, she’s heard from a handful of college coaches already.
“I think that she definitely could be a starting second baseman on any college team that she wants to,” said Lions coach Diane Sass. “And her academics are so strong that she can get recruited by lots of different colleges.”
Hong has gained notice as an all-around player for the Lions.
“She’s a great left-handed hitter,” Sass said. “She’s pitched some tough games this year and last year, and she’s really smart, a really smart player.”
The left-handed slap hitter is batting .652 with 11 RBI and has scored 19 runs. She has been equally effective as a pitcher.
The crafty pitcher – 4-2 this season – isn’t the hardest of throwers, but she has fanned 34 batters and has a 2.39 ERA.
“She has just practiced so hard,” said Sass, in her third year as coach. “All of her spins are really good and she has a lot of movement.”
Last year, Hong suffered a season-long bout with tendinitis – the result of overuse from playing on the tennis team in the fall. The pain became so bad, Hong even considered walking away from softball.
“I didn’t want to play anymore,” she said. “It was getting tough on me … but my parents persuaded me to push through it and keep on going.”
She’s glad she listened. After a few months of rest and rehabilitation, she returned to the diamond with renewed commitment.
She also made one concession: she decided to not play tennis last fall.
“I wanted to keep playing, but I knew that I couldn’t,” she said. “I had to choose.”
With the numbers she’s put up this season, it seems that decision is paying off. If all goes well, Hong – like her sister – will soon be playing college softball.
She and her parents frequently make the trip to La Verne to watch Rachel play. It’s clear the friendly competition between the sisters hasn’t slowed.
“I’ll come back to the dugout and she’ll be like, why did you walk that batter?,” said Rachel, who graduated from Marina in 2011.
Rachel – who played at Ashford University for a year before transferring to Orange Coast College and then to La Verne – continues to benefit from the family rivalry.
“I’m older, so of course I always have to be better than her, so that drives me and I drive her,” Rachel said, laughing. “I know what she can do.”
In a few years, Rachel hopes to be the one in the stands critiquing her sister’s play at the college level.
“It’s great because we’re so close now,” Rachel said. “It’s a really great bond because we push each other hard and we really love each other.”
Contact the writer: mhanlon@ocregister.com
