Johnston’s Smithson sisters reunite on UNI softball team, renew high school tradition against Iowa (2024)

IOWA CITY — A booming call thundered from the public address speakers at Bob Pearl Softball Field.

The faint echoes extended to the far reaches of the parking lot as public address announcer Glenn Wiebel read the starting lineups for Friday’s fall matchup between Northern Iowa and Iowa.

UNI head coach Ryan Jacobs hoped to use the offseason exhibition — an unofficial rematch of a 6-5 UNI victory last spring — to learn about his team after an offseason of change.

“The fall for us is about reps and getting in game situations,” Jacobs told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “It does not really matter, at this point, who we are playing.”

A large senior class, consisting of nine Panthers, including star pitcher Samantha Heyer and Missouri Valley Conference All-Defensive team second baseman Taylor Hogan, opened up opportunities in the UNI lineup for new faces. Alexis Pupillo’s departure via the transfer portal after two standout seasons as a catcher/utility player for the Panthers added further uncertainty to the lineup.

Thus, the contest offered Jacobs the safety to find out what worked — and what did not — against a major conference opponent.

“The fall is mixing and matching and seeing what we have and really getting prepared for the offseason and knowing, when we lift up the hood and start tinkering with things, what is it that we need to do,” Jacobs said. “It is really good when they get an opportunity to feel that before we go into the offseason because it creates a little bit more intent with what they are doing.

“You could see the gears spinning a little faster than we have been able to create in practice which is a good thing.”

In his search to find answers, Jacobs tried out a one-two punch with a proven track record. Jacobs positioned sisters Ava and Ella Smithson batting back-to-back in the seventh and eighth spots in the lineup.

“I wanted to see it again,” Jacobs said. “The first time I saw both of them together that is what it looked like.”

During parts of three high school seasons together, the Smithson sisters starred for Johnston as a daunting stretch in the Dragons’ lineup.

“Ella was the three-hole hitter and I was the four-hole hitter in high school,” Ava told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.

The Smithsons combined for 270 hits, 42 home runs and 261 runs batted in across 583 at-bats between 2020-22.

For the first time since 2022, the sisters were once again back-to-back in the lineup — albeit in the opposite order.

“It is what you dream about growing up, playing together since we were eight,” Ava said. “It is a dream come true really. And, to be able to play for UNI, the state of Iowa, is kind of how we were raised — work hard for what we get. To get on the field and play together again, I was pretty emotional during the lineup.

“When we were called back-to-back again, I was like, ‘Wow, this is right where I want to be, right where I belong.’”

Prior to her senior season, the eldest Smithson signed with Minnesota State Mankato, a Division II program, in November 2021.

Jacobs knew the Panthers missed out the moment he saw the duo for the first time.

“I remember saying right away, ‘Dang! We missed on that Ava kid,’” Jacobs said. “Then, Ella was right behind her and I am going, ‘OK, we have to go after this Ella kid too.’”

Jacobs made sure UNI did not miss on the younger Smithson, earning a commitment from Ella in December of 2022 ahead of her junior season at Johnston.

Two months later, Ava confirmed Jacobs’ fears.

In her freshman season with the Mavericks in 2023, Ava started 46 games, batting .298 with 12 home runs and a team-high 33 RBIs.

However, following her freshman season, Ava entered the transfer portal.

Unsurprisingly, interest from UNI quickly followed.

“It was a no-brainer when that happened,” Jacobs said.

As Jacobs worked to get Ava to Cedar Falls, Ella did some recruiting on the home front as well.

“I was really excited,” Ella told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “I was like, ‘Ava, there is no doubt. You should go to UNI because then you would be with me.’ I knew that, since I liked it, she was definitely going to like it. There was no doubt about that.

“I told her all the things I liked and how the coaches … have the same morals and ethics that we hold. I knew she was going to like it. I knew when she went into the portal that UNI was going to be the place for her.”

Ava announced her commitment to UNI in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, on June 16, 2023.

“So excited to be a Panther!!” Ava’s post read, accompanied by a purple and gold heart emoji.

Smithson appeared in six games, including one start, in her first season with the Panthers, mustering four hits in 11 at-bats and posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

All the while, Ella watched from the stands looking forward to her future at UNI.

“I was super excited to come to UNI,” Ella said. “Watching them compete and play every day was something that I wanted to be a part of. I knew that from the start.”

Ella closed out her prep career with the Dragons this summer, posting 54 hits, 42 RBIs, 8 home runs and a .478 batting average before joining UNI in the fall.

Her sister was ready to show her the ropes.

“It feels really good to come up here and know someone and have someone on the team that will look out for me and teach me the ropes,” Ella said. “Since college is a big jump from high school, she is there and knows the experience and how it feels to be a freshman. It is nice having her up there as a person to follow.”

According to Ava, she kept the advice simple.

“Give it everything you have, keep learning, it is a learning process,” Ava said. “Trust the process and good things will happen.”

Jacobs said he treats the sisters as individuals — not a package — and sees the Smithsons bring a different set of intangibles to diamond at UNI.

In her first year with the program, Jacobs said he saw leadership traits out of Ava.

“Ava stepped in as a newcomer last year, transferring in, a lot of new stuff and she really, at the end of the year, was one of the leadership people that protected the program and made sure that all the freshmen understood what was going on in the program,” Jacobs said. “Making sure the facts were out there to all the incoming kids, she stepped up and did a really good job.”

And, Ella brings the right approach to the game.

“Ella is relentless,” Jacobs said. “She is always on her toes, always ready. The game never bores her. Some other kids, you can see they check out. She is always flying around.”

Additionally, Jacobs said the Smithsons impress off the field.

“I can say a lot about them as softball players, but I cannot say enough about how they are as people,” Jacobs said. “ … They always are there to help — lend a helping hand when it needs to be. They are soft spoken, but they are not afraid to ask questions, they are not afraid of anything. They are really good people.

“They have goals that they want to do … Our priority system sets up great for them. I think that it is nothing new to them. It has always been that way for them. Their life might revolve around the game, but their priorities stay: faith, family, education then softball. They just live a real balanced life and it keeps a smile on their face.”

Jacobs credited Johnston head softball coach Todd Merical — and Todd and Abby Smithson — for shaping Ava and Ella into high-caliber individuals.

“Coach Merical has always developed his kids to have a great mentality about them about the game, respecting the game, playing it the right way,"Jacobs said. “The Smithson parents have done an unbelievable job with their kids in creating a tough-minded kids that just have fun playing hard and doing the things right.”