Sisters are sisters forever.
But on the softball field, anything goes.
This weekend's games between No. 18 ASU and No. 6 Stanford will feature more than a pair of Pac-10 teams fighting for a good start at Farrington Stadium.
It will be a battle for family bragging rights, as ASU sophomore utility player Himmita Hixson and Stanford junior outfielder Shoney Hixson square off for the first time this season.
"Whenever we're not playing each other, we're saying good luck and do good," Himmita said. "When we play each other, it's a little bit more hardcore. When we're pounding heads -- Stanford against ASU -- we say that we're going to beat each other."
Himmita has appeared in 28 games for ASU, playing primarily in the outfield. She has eight hits and three RBIs in 40 at-bats. She has committed just one error.
Shoney has four hits, five runs scored and an RBI in 10 at-bats for Stanford. She has played in 17 games, making appearances in the outfield and as a pinch-runner. She hasn't committed an error.
MIXIN' WITH HIXSON
Hometown: Oklahoma City.
Year: Sophomore.
Sport/Postion: Softball, utility player.
Height: 5 foot 5.
Fast Facts: One of ASU's most versatile players, seeing action in both the infield and the outfield. As a freshman, batted .214 with seven RBIs and one home run. Has totaled eight hits and three RBIs in 40 at-bats this season. Has committed just one error.
For siblings accustomed to combining forces, being in opposite dugouts isn't easy.
"We've always been on the same team, so it's a little weird for me to look across the field and see her in a different jersey," Himmita said. "It's funny because my family will sit directly in the middle of the backstop in neutral colors to watch us play."
The sisters are known as quick, well-rounded athletes.
Shoney lettered in softball for four years at Westmoore High School in Oklahoma City. She also lettered for three years in cross country and track and field and for one year in basketball.
Himmita said her sister is a phenomenal athlete.
"She's got some good speed," Himmita said. "Whenever we played together, she played center field and I played third base, so she has a lot of range in the outfield because she's so fast. Every time a ball was hit to the outfield, I didn't have to turn around. I knew she had it."
Himmita has some skills of her own. She graduated from the same high school a year after her sister, lettering four times in softball and once in basketball, track and field and cross country.
ASU coach Linda Wells insists Himmita is continually improving.
"She probably has the strongest arm of anyone on the team and maybe anyone that has played here in a very long time," Wells said. "She is still growing as a player, and she still has a lot of upside, especially offensively.
"I like coaching her because she enjoys the game a lot. She works on her game a lot, and she has a good time playing. She's really trying to get better and hone her skills."
Reach the reporter at jeremy.a.cluff@asu.edu.
