ISU softball coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler knew she was going to have plenty of new faces in new positions this year after graduating six players from the 2010 season. She did not have to look far when choosing who would replace Kelsey Kidwell in center field.

She simply moved Heidi Kidwell, Kelsey’s younger sister, into the position.

“I have a hard time even calling her a replacement,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “She was just as valuable to us last year as she is now.”

Last season, the younger Kidwell — just a sophomore at the time —became the fourth player in school history to reach 60 hits in a season. She also led the team with an average of .328, followed closely by her older sister, who had a batting average of .308.

This season, Heidi is first on the team in batting average [.396], hits [19] and stolen bases [9], helping lead her team to a 9-6 record.

Kelsey acknowledged that her younger sister’s wealth of experience has paid dividends for both of them. In Kelsey’s final three seasons at Iowa State, she never missed a game, amassing 186 total starts as a Cyclone.

“Kelsey taught me how to play center and gave me all her tips,” Heidi said. “It was the same thing back in high school. She played center until she graduated, and then I took her spot.”

The two sisters attended Solon High School, where they were both four-time letter winners in softball. They were also both awarded letters in track and basketball.

Each of them won state championships in softball while at Solon, though never while they were on the same squad. Kelsey was a freshman on the 2003 Solon team that won state. Heidi helped lead Solon to another state title in 2007, the year after her sister’s high school graduation.

Gemeinhardt-Cesler points to friendly competition between the two sisters as a reason behind their success.

“They’re definitely competitive people. I think each one wanted to outdo the other,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “But I think they were definitely each other’s best fans, too.”

Heidi acknowledges that the two have always been rivals, no matter the sport.

“We’ve always been competitive growing up. Not only in softball, but in other sports too.” Heidi said. “In track, we would run events together, and I would always want to beat her times.”