The play could simply have been the result of coaching, hours of practice or a combination of the two, alert players making the decisions that they’d been drilled time after time to do.
But perhaps there was something else at work when Ashley Kropp, Polk County’s catcher, saw a runner straying too far past second base in the sixth inning of Wednesday’s softball playoff opener with South Stokes. Perhaps the fact her twin sister, Hayley, was the infielder to whom she threw the ball at second, recording a crucial out in the Wolverines’ 2-1 win, was more than just a coincidence.
“Sometimes we can just read each other on certain plays,” Ashley Kropp said. “It’s like we know what each other is going to do.”
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Which is what would you expect from wombmates.
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Beneath the stream of excitement of Polk County’s 20-3 season and its state playoff hopes flows a melancholy undercurrent for Ashley and Hayley Kropp.
Each time the Wolverines step onto the field in the postseason, it could be the last time the two sisters compete together in an official setting. For twins who have been teammates for as long as they can remember, beginning with youth baseball and continuing through Polk County Middle and Polk County High schools, that realization has not gone unnoticed.
“It’s really sad,” Hayley Kropp said. “I’ve played with her since we came out of the womb. It’s like playing with your best friend every day.
“We have played baseball forever. We played baseball more than we played softball. It has been amazing playing with her.”
“It’s hard, having played with her my whole life,” Ashley said. “It’s been an amazing experience to play with a twin. This is one of those bittersweet moments.”
The two have gone through one separation before, a medical situation causing Hayley to miss most of one year in elementary school and putting the twins in different grades. But the two have remained as close as you would expect twins to be, sports often the common denominator in the relationship.
“We are completely different people, but sometimes we say the same things and dress the same way,” Hayley said. “We are pretty much with each other 20 hours a day.”
“We’re really, really close,” said Ashley , the older twin by two minutes. “We’re completely opposite people, but we have this connection.”
The Kropps have also formed a connection with the school and community. It’s rare to see either twin not surrounded by friends; it’s common to see the two involved in school activities away from the court or field. The two have each also stood out athletically, with all-conference and all-state honors no doubt taking up a lot of room somewhere in the Kropp household.
Quiet, humble, coachable, competitive – the two are loved by coaches nearly as much as peers.
“These girls are lifelong athletes. I watched them play baseball and youth basketball for years,” said Polk County athletic director and softball coach Jeff Wilson. “They have been a blessing to me as a softball coach. They are great athletes who have great attitudes.
“They have brought confidence to other girls in every sport. You could see it when they were younger and now that they’re older. Their interaction with their peer group is really impressive. They care, and it shows.”
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So, the wombmate thing.
In her final year at Polk County, Ashley has been recognized at various athletic senior days this season. At the Wolverines’ basketball celebration, she thanked Hayley for being her “wombmate,” bringing a laugh from the crowd. The two routinely use the phrase on social media when referring to the other.
“That’s from a movie called Jack and Jill,” Ashley Kropp said. “Since we saw that we have called each other wombmates. Plus, it just sounds cool.”
Both sisters admit that they do the expected twin things – finish each other’s sentences, dress the same way, know what each other is thinking sometimes and so on. Ask each to name one thing about the other that would surprise people to know, though, and it takes a while for each to answer, perhaps in part because they know each other so well.
“Ashley can be sassy,” Hayley finally said. “She’s really sassy sometimes.”
“Hayley has a big heart,” Ashley said. “She hides it by being tough, but she really cares about people.”
Caring about others is a trait both share; Ashley plans to pursue a career in nursing after she graduates next month. Hayley has one more year at Polk County, a senior season in which she will become the school’s career scoring leader in basketball, look to again be an all-conference runner in cross country and continue her stellar softball career.
But those accomplishments will come in a final year unlike any other.
“I have actually thought about that. It’s going to be really different,” Hayley said. “Any time I go anywhere, I always invite her. It’s going to be weird without behind the plate and on the court.”
