M
tt MattLevins - The Hawk Eye
Reagan and Anna Engberg have been nearly inseparable for the last 20 years.
The sisters have gone everywhere, done everything and shared almost every life experience.
And when it comes to softball, the pair have formed an even closer bond. Their love of softball has taken the Engbergs places they never imagined they would go.
The Engbergs graduated from Notre Dame High School and played for David Oleson at West Burlington-Notre Dame.
They couldn’t imagine any of it without each other.
Reagan and Anna Engberg played their last softball game together earlier this month, both members of the St. Ambrose University softball team the past two years.
Reagan, a senior, graduated this year and will enroll at Truman State University in the fall to complete her degree in speech pathology.
Anna, a sophomore, still has two years of eligibility left as the Fighting Bees make the move to the Heart of America Conference.
It has been a magic ride for the Engbergs and their family, a lifetime of memories created as they go their separate ways in life.
“It’s really bittersweet to be honest,” Reagan Engberg said. “We had a really good time this year. They are going to be really good the next few years with all the talent they have. It really means the world to me to play with my sister on last time.”
“It’s been so amazing playing with my sister through the years,” Anna Engberg said. “She’s such a good role model. I have always looked up to her. We are so close in age and we are best friends. It’s been so much fun the last two years here, getting to be on the field with her and just sitting in the dugout chatting. I’m really going to miss her.”
The Bees finished the season with a 30-19 record, including 20-7 in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The Engbergs got to play middle infield together much of the season, Anna at second base, Reagan at shortstop. They formed a dynamic duo, not only in the field, but at the plate.
Anna Engberg hit .339 with a .467 on-base percentage and a .405 slugging percentage. She had six doubles and one triple, scored 33 runs and drove in 23 runs.
Reagan Engberg hit .271 with a .344 on-base percentage and a .318 slugging percentage with two doubles and one triple. She scored 14 runs and drove in 22 runs.
They even came up with their own statistic: “Sis-BI.”
“It was always so funny when one of us drove in the other everyone would yell, ’Sis-BI,’” Anna Engberg said. “It was awesome to see the team get so excited. It was so exciting in out last game I had a sacrifice fly to drive in Reagan and we had a double play together. Everyone was just so excited.”
“Almost 100 percent of the time when one of us was on second or third, the other would drive her in,” Reagan Engberg said. “We would turn a double play and everyone would yell, ’Sis-double play.’ It was so much fun.”
Making it even more special was being close to home. That allowed their parents, Aaron and Karen Engberg, their younger brother, Landon, and their grandparents, Bob and Mary Engberg, to make the trip to Davenport for most of their games.
“It’s been awesome. They are all so supportive,” Anna said. “Our parents put in so much time and money into the sport. They all want to see is succeed.”
From the early days of tee ball up through Little League and travel ball with the Mudd Dawgs, then high school softball at WB-ND and finally at St. Ambrose, the Engberg sisters have been almost inseparable.
It has been a ride they will cherish a lifetime.
“It’s going to be different without Reagan,” said Anna, who is pursuing a career as an occupational therapist. “It’s going to be weird, just like when she graduated from Notre Dame. I’m going to have to adapt. We’ve had so many great memories together in softball. I’m going to miss her.”
“We learned so much playing for West Burlington-Notre Dame. We learned to always show up and give 100 percent and to be a good leader and a good teammate,” Reagan added. “It’s been super fun getting to play with Anna right next to me at second base. It’s going to be really weird without Anna and without softball next year. I’m really going to miss it, but you have to start adulting at some point.”