Cortney Kivett paused before disappearing into the softball dugout.
Ask her twin sister, she said laughing, about her rapping skills. It started as a team joke with Ashley Kivett’s familiarity with the lyrics of hip-hop and rap songs.
Occasionally, Ashley, who can keep up with the often-quick lyrics, will freestyle rap about teammates with former second baseman Suzie Barnes, who is helping the Ducks as an undergraduate assistant coach.
“We all listen to music together and they were surprised that I knew a lot of the lyrics ’cause a lot of them go really fast,” Ashley said.
Music is a small look into lives of the Kivett sisters off the field, who, with their bats and gloves, are making an immediate impact on the field for the Oregon softball team.
Cortney is the starting second baseman and in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak. Last week, she scorched opponents in the UNLV Invitational with a .526 batting average on 10 hits in 19 at-bats. She also stole five bases in seven attempts.
The performance bolstered her already team-leading batting average of .402 and team-high 39 hits – eight more than her next closest teammate, Neena Bryant.
Ashley is sharing starts at catcher with senior Amie Morris and drawing praise from coaches and teammates for her work with the pitchers and management of the game from behind the plate. Ashley, who is batting .208, has eight RBIs and is tied for second on the team with four doubles.
“For a younger catcher, she understands,” Oregon coach Kathy Arendsen said. “She’s a good leader.”
The twins arrived from Yucaipa High in San Bernardino County. They played under their father, David Kivett, who coached them in high school and was an assistant coach for the California Sudden Impact Gold club team.
“He was tougher on us because we were his daughters, but it was fun,” Cortney said.
Arendsen singled out the sisters’ strong fundamentals as helping ease their transition.
“They understand the basic skills of the sport and they do them right,” Arendsen said. “They’ve been drilled in doing them right over and over again so it’s just second nature for them and that’s really helpful for us.”
The sisters branched out in high school and made forays into basketball and volleyball. Softball, they say, was their best shot at a college scholarship. Oregon coaches recruited both with Arendsen saying they filled needs, and so far with each making regular contributions, they could be long-term answers at catcher and second base.
Arendsen counts on the speed Cortney and Sari-Jane Jenkins provide Oregon at the top of the lineup. The pair’s success at stealing bases has helped alleviate the need to bunt runners over and saves outs. Cortney’s 20 stolen bases this season is just ahead of Jenkins, who has 18.
As fraternal twins, it makes it easier to tell the pair apart. Ashley, born a minute earlier than Cortney, says the two made the decision to have separate roommates within Barnhart Hall to branch out and meet new people.
And yet they help each other with homework and life as they both experience college living for the first time.
“People usually see us as individuals and then it’s nice to go back to having that person who shares the same interests as you,” Ashley said. “It’s kind of like the best friend you always have.”
Ditto, says her sister.
“I feel more comfortable,” Cortney said. “I came in more relaxed knowing I would have someone there for me.”
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