Soto twins find Cougar blood in their softball future

By Millie Diaz
Sports Writer
    One has a fluid swing at the plate, and her sister has great hands and quick footwork. Ashley and Kirstie Soto, seniors at Edna High School, signed letters of intent to play softball at Coastal Bend College in Beeville for the 2017-18 fall and spring seasons, and they said they’re ready to push themselves at the next level.
    Although the girls are currently playing basketball, they have been playing Select softball in their offseasons, and were noticed by Frank and Tony Moron, Coastal Bend softball father and son coaches, at a Select tournament played at the college. They are looking to play infield spots with Kirstie at shortstop and Ashley at third base, but it’s not set in stone just yet.
    Tony, assistant coach, said the Coastal Bend program is only 10 years old, and they just had their best season to date earlier this year.
    “We are in Region 14, one of the strongest in the country, and we won more games than we ever have. This year we want to finish in the top four, and we hope the Soto girls will help us be a force to be reckoned with, we’re hoping to make some noise.”
    To have Ashley and Kirstie on the field, he said, is like having another coach on the team. “Their knowledge of softball is evident, they know what’s supposed to be done at any point in a game.”
    Megan Chovanec, new head softball coach for Edna this year, knows the girls well because she was the assistant coach for Edna in the previous season.
    “Kirstie’s a bulldog, you tell her to do something and she’s going to get it done, she’s got amazing hands at shortstop, some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. Ashley has one of the prettiest swings ever, she looks like a major league baseball player out there.”
    Ashley said her swing must’ve come naturally, because hitting has never been her focus. Kirstie agreed completely.
    “I’m over here trying to work hard on my swing and it doesn’t get any better! I think since we’re twins, one of had to be better at one thing compared to the other. Ash is better at offense and me defense,” Kirstie said.
    Chovanec played softball for Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, and she said she has full faith in the girls that they can make it at the next level.
    “I knew I wanted them as my captains when I became head coach: last year we had only one senior and I dug that extra leadership out of them. Neither of them liked to lead vocally, but they stepped up and I believe they will continue to next year.”
    The twins said they had been looking at attending separate colleges as well, and weighed the pros and cons of living together beyond high school, but said ultimately, going to Coastal Bend means they can keep pushing each other.
    “We played Little League in Edna and our dad coached so softball became a big part of our lives, every Saturday we were out there and we fell in love with it,” Kirstie said. “Being in Select ball, we got to see some girls get full rides to play softball for college and that pushed us even more, I think it made us realize what we wanted to do.”
    “I’m nervous and excited, I’m hoping we can find a place on the team where we fit and being in Beeville, we can come home on weekends, I like being close to our family, our coaches and our friends,” Ashley said.
    The twins will play softball for EHS in spring of 2017, and then do summer workouts. At Coastal Bend, they report to two-a-days at the end of August to play fall ball, and then slide into spring ball.
    “Coach Moron told us to take August off and relax, and maybe take a vacation,” Kirstie said. “I would love to go back to Louisiana, we took a family trip there once, the food was great and the drive wasn’t bad.”
    “South Padre,” Ashley said. “We’ve taken some trips there too when we were younger and I’d like to go back.”
    The twins have been a part of the Select Team W, led by John Reyes. Reyes’ daughter played for Coastal Bend, and he connected the Sotos with the Morons when they mentioned they needed a shortstop and third baseman.
    It’s all mental at the college level, Chovanec said. “It’s still about the love of the game, but it’s a job at that point, you’re getting paid to go. In high school there’s a certain amount of hours of commitment, and in college it’s tripled. The coaches are invested in you and expect you to perform, but I don’t think the girls will have a problem with that, they are both very bright and responsible.”