If you had one shot, one opportunity …
Kiley and Courtney Hankenhoff had done just about everything together over the course of their lives — except for playing on the same high school softball team.
With Kiley in her senior year at Greenwood and younger sister Courtney now a freshman, the two knew they’d only have one spring together playing for the Woodmen.
After years of waiting for the opportunity, they’re taking full advantage. The two Hankenhoffs have been a stabilizing force for a Woodmen team that has held its own early in the season despite not having much in the way of experience.
An accomplished travel player with the Indiana Shockwaves, Courtney probably qualifies as a veteran for this young Greenwood team.
She’s been eagerly awaiting this lone season playing with her older sister.
“All of her years I’ve gone and watched her, and I just thought it would look so fun to play with them all,” Courtney said. “I’m friends with a lot of the girls on the team from middle school softball and from my sister, so it’s pretty cool to play with all of them.”
“We were really looking forward to it,” Kiley added. “We are best friends off the field anyway, so it really works out for us.”
Though the two have attended camps together many times and Courtney has occasionally substituted in on Kiley’s travel team, the Indiana Gators, being full-time teammates for the first time has been a much more special experience for both of them.
“You can tell that when they’re on the field together,” Greenwood co-coach Nataley Raker said. “They have a special bond and they seem to really encourage each other and want to see each other do well. Kiley’s been a great role model for her sister on and off the field, and it’s really exciting to see that special bond between them.”
Courtney frequently bats third, just ahead of Kiley in the cleanup spot, and the connection has produced good results for the Woodmen. Heading into today’s game at Shelbyville, Courtney leads the team in batting average (.480) and runs batted in (11), while Kiley is hitting .300 with three home runs, seven RBIs and eight runs scored. Courtney also shares most of the pitching chores with sophomore Taylor Dick.
When Courtney isn’t throwing, the two Hankenhoffs handle the infield corners with Kiley playing first base and Courtney at third. Their combined travel ball experience has helped raise the level of play for the entire squad.
“They’re not only helping themselves, but they help the team,” Raker said. “When anyone has questions, they’re there to help; they kind of have more of that softball IQ to know what’s going on and what needs to be done to win the game.”
Kiley Hankenhoff is hoping to rack up as many wins as possible in her final season with the Woodmen; next spring, she’ll be suiting up for Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati. And while moving on to the next level will mean going back to playing without Courtney, the two have already discussed the possibility of a 2025 reunion with the Lions.
They’ve also talked about Courtney going to a different school in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference — perhaps Franklin College — and playing against her sister. That would be a different dynamic entirely.
“It would be,” Kiley Hankenhoff said. “It’d be fun, though.”
