PHOENIX — Golden Ticket recipients. Big 12 Athlete of the Year nominees. All-Americans.

Kenzie Brown and Sydney Stewart checked nearly every college softball box in their careers, but they did it from opposite dugouts.

Brown, an Arizona State pitcher, and Stewart, an Arizona catcher, spent the final seasons of their collegiate careers as anchors of rival programs before forming an unexpected bond in their professional softball careers.

Instead of trying to throw pitches past Stewart’s bat, Brown is now trying to throw them into Stewart’s mitt as the pitcher-catcher duo for the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s latest expansion team, the Portland Cascade.

Although they came from the most intense college rivalry in the state of Arizona, it didn’t take long for them to bond.

“It was seamless,” Stewart said “It was so much fun. We’re just goofy, we’re weird, and it’s like we’re the same people almost. It’s uncanny to see how much we click.”

There is a comfort that comes from common experiences, playing in the same state, conference and squaring off against each other multiple times each season.

“There’s just a different level of personality and familiarity there that just meshed with us super well off the bat,” Brown said. “I’m just really thankful we’re on the same side of the ball.”

Although the tension was there for Brown every time she squared off with the Wildcats, she said the softball community is stronger than rivalry.

“I’ve always respected the way that she’s played. She plays with a lot of grace. I never once was like, ‘Oh, I hate her,’” Brown said. “I think the rivalry is real in college. But once you’re out of college, at the end of the day, softball is a huge community, and being able to kind of relate to other women who play Division I athletics and in the same conference in the same state, there’s just a level of relatability to that.”

While the college regular season was still underway, they each received a Golden Ticket, sealing their future in the AUSL while taking another step in their softball careers together.

On May 4, Portland drafted both of them just days before they matched up in the Big 12 softball tournament.

“Getting to play on the same team as each other, getting drafted to the same team — once I saw that, I was like, ‘Wait, this is fun!’” Stewart said. “I think I texted her like the day we got drafted. I’m like, ‘Hey, teammate!’”

Fate kept pushing them closer together

“Whenever I was on my flight to training camp, I found out Sid was my roommate,” Brown said. “We were roomed together for two weeks in Vero Beach (Florida), and like right from the jump, Sid and I just got along. As much as I can’t stand the team down south, Sid has been great and she’s a wonderful human being.”

Playing for a Power Four softball program means facing some of the toughest hitters as a pitcher, but the talent threshold goes up while playing professionally.

“One through nine, every single lineup that I face, every hitter is really, really good,” Brown said. “Almost all of them are All-Americans, so it’s definitely different in trying to adjust without overcompensating what you’re really good at.”

A big adjustment for the righty this season is the pace of play.

“With the 15-second pitch clock instead of the 20. That’s been a little bit different, but good, honestly, for me, just because I’m a fast worker,” Brown said.

While the pitch clock is also a change to navigate for Stuart, getting used to the new strike zone and the physical demands of the game have been bigger challenges.

“The strike zone has been different,” Stewart said. “And then obviously your body is tired from the season, too, but it’s been cool because you just get to piece things together and you obviously have new teammates.

“Just getting to see how you learn from the vets and just from different perspectives, I feel like I’m definitely a different player than I was in college but also like embodying things that I’m good at and things that kind of like (are) my core.”

Stewart said veteran teammates have aided her professional growth.

“I’ve learned so much and I’ve definitely been challenged,” she said. “But it’s cool having the people that you have around you that have been pros, that are vets, and I’ve asked questions.

I just feel like my softball IQ has gotten even better and it’s been a lot of fun. I feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself and just about what type of softball player I am in the past month and a half.”

While the pair have found friendship as teammates, there are other less subtle benefits.

“Thank God I don’t have to throw to her anymore. Good lord, she’s a tough out,” Brown said. “She’s adapted so well to me. I’m really lucky to have her behind the plate for sure.”

During her senior year at Arizona, Stewart hit .390 with 20 home runs and 76 RBIs, setting a school slugging percentage record at .866.

“There aren’t many holes with Sydney,” Brown said. “As a pitcher, it’s really tough because no matter where I put the ball, she was going to hit it in that direction. I didn’t know what I could throw her to get her out, just because it felt like she was just so hard at times.

“With a lot of hitters, they can either hit up or down really well or side to side. With Sid, it’s that she just has really good hand-eye coordination and elite-level instincts that you just can’t teach. That’s honestly what makes Sydney Sydney and so special, and why she’s at this level.”

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.