|
A few weeks ago in a home softball game against Otsego, Eastwood's No. 3 hitter, senior catcher Kerri Gangwer, belted an over-the-fence home run.
The next batter, Jimmi Gangwer, Kerri's twin sister, smashed a homer that landed in virtually the same spot. It was the first home run of the year for both players.
“I've been coaching for 15 years,” Eastwood coach Joe Wyant said, “and I've never seen that before. They were both hit in about the same spot — Jimmi hit hers about five feet farther.”
The fact that the Gangwer twins hit back-to-back dingers shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise. After all, they do virtually everything else together – except share the same bedroom.
“I'm good with everything the way it's gone,” Jimmi, a first baseman, said of being an identical twin. “She respects my privacy and I respect hers.”
Kerri, who has a 4.1 GPA, was a first-team All-Suburban Lakes League selection as a sophomore and was an honorable mention all-league and second-team all-district performer last season. Through 17 games this spring she is batting .333 with four doubles and 14 runs scored for the defending league champion Eagles (12-7, 5-3).
“Kerri is a very good defensive catcher, and she's got a really good arm,” Wyant said. “She's thrown out seven (of nine) base runners this year. People don't try to steal on her. She does a good job receiving the ball, and she sure helps the pitchers out a lot.”
Jimmi, who has a 3.97 GPA, bats fourth in the Eagles' lineup and is one minute older than her sister. She earned first-team all-league honors last season and is hitting .375 with a team-leading 16 RBI, nine doubles and two triples.
“She is a solid first baseman,” Wyant said. “She has one error this year, out of 120 chances. Jimmi hits the ball hard and she's having a great year hitting. She's only one off the school record for extra bases, so she should be able to break that.”
Jimmi already holds the school career record for home runs, with six. Kerri is second, with five.
Other than the fact that they play different positions on the ball diamond – they also played basketball for the Eagles the last two years – it can be difficult to tell them apart. Both brunettes have hazel eyes but Kerri, at 5-foot-10, is an inch taller than Jimmi.
“I have a skinnier face,” Kerri said, “and she has a Marilyn Monroe mole on the right side of her face.”
“I don't wear makeup, and she does,” Jimmi said. “Not a lot of makeup, it's just that you can tell the difference.”
Wyant said he's got the twins figured out.
“I can tell them apart pretty easy,” the coach said. “One looks just a little different. From the side it's hard to tell, but from the front, I can tell. A lot of people still mix them up. They sound alike – their voices are about the same – but Kerri is a little more vocal than Jimmi. Kerri is just a little taller, too.”
Jimmi and Kerri both have part-time jobs – albeit not the same job - at Bob Evans in Perrysburg. Both girls have earned academic scholarships from Bowling Green State University, and they have the same work ethic.
“They are really great kids,” Wyant said. “If you need anything done, they're the first two to jump up and help. If you need somebody to rake the infield, they're one of the first ones. If you need the pitching machine out, they're the first two up. They just enjoy it and they're just really good kids to be around.”
Jimmi and Kerri rarely argue, and they can be competitive with one another. Kind of.
“We're jokingly competitive in general, like about our grades,” Jimmi said. “She's got a better grade-point average than I do because my freshman year, I wasn't in any honors classes.”
Kerri said, “I joke around with her about the grades, but she doesn't really take it too seriously. When we hit our back-to-back home runs, she came around the bases and said, 'I couldn't let her beat me.' I just smiled.”
Both girls said they enjoy having an identical twin. There are no other twins in their family.
“I like having someone to go through things with,” Kerri said. “Like in basketball, having her there and not being by myself. And it's nice to have someone to help study.”
“You always have someone to hang out with,” Jimmi said. “Most of the time we shop together with our mom (Jaye). We do basically everything together. We're in lots of (school) clubs together, but there are one or two things I'm in that she's not, and there are one or two things she's involved in that I'm not.”
Kerri plans to study construction management at BGSU, while Jimmi is going to major in telecommunications. Both girls hope to make the Falcons' softball team next season as walk-ons.
“It's a goal of mine, but I'm not quite sure that's what I'm going to do yet,” Kerri said. “I think I'll be happier if I do make (the team). If I do go and watch them play, I'll be sad and I will miss playing softball.”
 |
Sports 
Subscribe to this comment's feed