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Softball: Gremillion sisters build strong bond as teammatesKevin Foote, The Advertiser, May 17, 2018
In a season filled with changes and uncertainties, the sister tandem of Kara and Kourtney Gremillion have been an oasis of stability for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns. Kara has started all 52 games at third base and Kourtney has started 50 of 51 games a first base. But as critical as the Gremillions have been to the success of UL’s softball program this season, it doesn’t compare to the impact the program has had on the off-the-field relationship between the two sisters. More: Shhh: UL wants no LSU talk before Houston NCAA game “Growing up, we were not friends,” said Kara Gremillion, who will lead the Ragin’ Cajuns into the 2018 Baton Rouge Regional at LSU’s Tiger Park against Houston at 3 p.m. Friday. “We fought all the time. Since we got to college, it’s completely changed. We love each other and we hang out all the time. When we were little, we didn’t talk and the only time we did talk, it was fighting. It was bad. If you would have told me then that we’d be this close now, I wouldn’t have believed you.” For so many years, there was an adversarial relationship between the two. Now it couldn’t be farther from the truth. “We’re similar in certain ways, and in other ways we’re different,” Kourtney said.
UL red-shirt freshman first baseman Kourtney Gremillion has been consistent defensively all season. (Photo: James Mays/Special to the Advertiser)
The turnaround came almost as soon as Kourtney joined Kara on the UL campus. “We just didn’t get along (growing up),” Kara said. “We were jealous of each other and now that we’re here, it’s not like that anymore. We’re rooting for each other and wanting the best for each other. But when we were little, it was not like that.” Of course, there are times when the two sisters still get on each other a little bit. “I give her a hard time over there at third base sometimes,” Kourtney said, “just messing with her, because she gets the yipps. Like, ‘It’s alright. You’re making me better.’ She gets mad. She’s like, ‘I’m so sorry; I’m so sorry.’ I’m like, ‘It’s OK. It happens to everyone.’ ” More: UL’s Lexie Comeaux details how offseason drama devastated team, and how they won anyway But being sisters, the communication on the field is better if kept to a minimum, no matter how good their relationship currently is off the field. “I think the best idea is for us to leave each other alone,” Kara explained. “But if we do talk about it, I’m not going to baby her. I’m going to tell her to keep her head up and keep going, because I’m not about pouting and feeling sorry for yourself. It’s a game of failure. You’re going to fail. You’ve got to just keep going. “We need to stay away from each other (during games), because it’s different talking to your sister on the field than it is another teammate. You’re more sensitive when they say something and you can kind of snap back, so we pretty much stay away from each other from that aspect.” This past fall, however, when the program was undergoing turmoil with the university’s release of longtime head coach Michael Lotief, the sisters certainly leaned on one another. “It was good having Kara, because Kara and I are usually on the same page about just about everything,” Kourtney said. “Seeing where her head was at the time and where my head was and being there for each other and keeping each other calm through it all was really good.” For Kara and Kourtney, though, family issues at Lamson Park don’t end with their relationship. In every home game, a rowdy group of family members congregate in the boxseats near the opponent’s dugout and make themselves known. More: Rodriguez leaps obstacles for smooth senior year “I try to ignore them as much as I can,” Kara said, laughing. “During a game, I’m not listening to that at all. I’m pretty focused, pretty tunnel-visioned on the game. “Every now and then I do hear something and if they say something I don’t like, I give them the eyes. They know when I look at them that’s when it’s time to calm down. Sometimes they don’t have a filter and don’t know when to stop.” But deep down, the sisters enjoy the family love. “We do have to ignore them,” Kourtney said. “They’re always trying to get our attention and Kara and I are always so focused. We’re like, ‘We can’t lose focus.’ But they know we hear them and it makes it so much more fun. I think they’re having more fun than us. “It really does make the atmosphere fun.” As focused as the two quiet, mostly stoic athletes strive to be each game, they both admit having moments where they can look across the infield and appreciate just how cool it is playing Division I softball with a sister. “(It happens) All the time,” Kourtney said. “It’s really awesome. Kara has always been the type of athlete you want on your team. The fact that she’s my sister makes it all that much better.” Kara too relishes the moment often. “I definitely do,” she said. “I definitely don’t everything for granted. I appreciate the fact that I get to look over to first base and see my little sister over there and thriving and just loving it and having a good time. It’s just an awesome feeling for me because I watched her grow up. “Every ball I get, I’m throwing it to her and I trust her completely to catch it. Even when she doesn’t catch it, I know it’s my fault, not hers, because I know she did everything to catch it.” Despite a late-season slump, Kara is second on the team in hitting at .314 with six doubles, 21 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. More: Glasco, Cajuns looking forward after loss in finals “She’s Pete Rose,” UL coach Gerry Glasco said. “She plays just like Pete Rose. It only takes you a few minutes to see that. From the very first practice, you can see that she’s hard-nosed. You can see why she’s good. Kara, every single play, she goes as hard as she can play. That’s so special.” Kourtney, meanwhile, is hitting .286 as a red-shirt freshman with five doubles, three homers and 20 RBIs. “Kourtney was a little harder for me to read, because she doesn’t talk much and she’s not as animated in her playing style,” Glasco said. “I love left-handed hitters, so she kind of caught my eye.” The two Baton Rouge natives are now hoping for a memorable weekend at Tiger Park. “It’s exciting, because I know there’s going to be a lot of people there,” Kourtney said. “It’s my hometown, so there’s going to be a lot of people I know. It’s going to be a great atmosphere to be at. I remember last year, it was exciting.”  Buy Photo
UL third baseman Kara Gremillion is known for her consistent hustle no matter what the score of the game is. (Photo: Buddy Delahoussaye/Special to the Advertiser) NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL SCHEDULEFriday Game 1: 3 p.m. – Houston vs. UL (ESPN3) Game 2: 5:30 p.m. – Fordham vs. LSU (ESPN3) Saturday Game 3: noon – Winner of game one vs. Winner game two Game 4: 2:30 p.m. – Loser of game one vs. Loser of game two Game 5: 5 p.m. – Winner of game four vs. Loser game three Sunday Game 6: 1 p.m. – Winner of game three vs. Winner of game five Game 7: 3:30 p.m. – (if necessary) Winner of game six vs. Loser game six
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