Brittany and Briauna Taylor had opponents seeing double all season on the basketball court, and now the sophomore twin duo have taken their talents from the Fieldhouse Arena to the softball diamond.

Since joining the softball team 11 games into the regular season after the basketball season ended, the twins have played six games for GVSU (14-3, 0-0 GLIAC).

Both twins have played varsity basketball for the Lakers since last year as freshmen, but softball has been a part of their life since grade school as well, and they have happily found the time for the sport again this spring.

“I didn’t want to do it last year since we were just getting adjusted to college,” Briauna Taylor said. “With school and basketball, I felt that if I would have decided to play softball as well, I would have been too stressed out. We got adjusted to that, though, so this year I knew I would have time and was organized, so I told myself that I was ready to play two sports.”

The time commitment to play just one varsity sport is a daunting task for most student athletes, but the Taylor twins have found that playing two was not as bad as they had initially thought, although it has mandated some sacrifice.

“It’s really not that bad, but you give up some things,” Briauna Taylor said. “I have to get my homework done earlier and make sure to set aside enough time for stuff since I don’t have as much time as most other people have. But it’s fun and tangible.”
Brittany Taylor said she spends a good amount of time in the library to keep up with her work and play the sports she loves.

The twins got their start with softball in a slow pitch league in Detroit and began playing fast pitch when they moved to Livonia, Mich., in fifth grade. They played in high school, too, and have re-acclimated to the sport with relative ease with the support of their teammates at GVSU.

“The softball team is great,” Brittany Taylor said. “They’re a great group of girls and have been really accepting of Briauna and I joining the team. I love the sport, and am glad I am getting back into it and cannot wait to see what the future holds.”

Though they have only been with the team for six games, the twins have fit in with the rest of the team and were able to work with the team at the start of the academic year.
“It helped a lot that we had them in the fall for a couple practices,” said GVSU head coach Doug Woods. “They have transitioned very well to our team right after their basketball season and have worked well with the team.”

Through the six games, Briauna Taylor, a shortstop, is batting .462 with six hits in 13 at bats while Brittany Taylor, an outfielder, has already crossed the plate for four runs in her seven at bats. Both girls have two RBI’s and are enjoying their time playing softball again.
While it has been nice having their twin sister on the softball team as well, both Brittany and Briauna said they would still have tried playing softball this year if the other one did not want to.

The Lakers will begin three doubleheaders this weekend against Ohio Dominican University, Ashland University and Lake Erie College. The games begin with Ohio Dominican tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.

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