Twins Liv and Cady Gruenburg, from Battle Ground High School, will continue to play fastpitch softball together as they head to Eastern Oregon University this fall.
The Gruenburgs have played the sport together for 12 years and have both received scholarships to the university.
Liv is excited to attend college alongside her sister, especially after the duo worked hard to reach this pivotal moment in their lives.
“We really wanted to go to Montana, but once we got there, we realized it was pretty far,” Liv said. “So we went to La Grande, which is where Eastern Oregon is located, and it is beautiful up there and is like Montana but in Oregon, which was a huge selling point for us.”
The sisters got their start in the sport through T-ball in Woodland and then progressed onto Little League in Battle Ground before attending BGHS.
Liv described her experience at the high school as “nothing but normal, but ... still very fun.”
“I feel like everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve done good things with that program, and helped make history in one way or another there,” she said.
Liv also said she is looking forward to playing collegiate softball.
“I’m just super excited to get out of the house and help the team out,” she said.
Liv and Cady received partial scholarships due to fifth-year eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic. Liv secured a $5,000 scholarship, while Cady received one for $6,500.
Liv aims to major in business marketing, while Cady plans to major in psychology and wants to obtain a minor in criminology.
“I’m thankful for everyone who’s helped me throughout the years and helped me get to where I’m at academics-wise, softball-wise, and just as a person,” Liv said.
Cady is also excited to attend the university alongside her sister.
“We’ve been playing together for around 12 years,” Cady said. “It was pretty expensive. I thank my family a lot for financial reasons and helping us get to the best we could be. Overall, softball has been my life for a really long time and it’s really awesome getting to that collegiate level.”
Cady said Eastern Oregon softball coach Nicole Christian is “like a mom.” She said the university will be a great home for the next four years.
“I want to be a massive team player,” Cady said. “In my freshman year, I just want to show support to everybody and help however I can. Maybe being athlete of the week a few times would be pretty awesome.”
The girls’ father, Dan, said he is excited and proud of his daughters.
“They’ve worked hard. We had to go through a lot with the pandemic, and to be able to stay focused and keep at their craft was pretty impressive,” Dan said. “I’ve coached softball for the past 15 years and some of the most talented girls I’ve come across hung it up during the pandemic because they just decided they didn’t need softball to keep living.”
That wasn’t the case for Liv and Cady, who kept with the sport.
“I’m very proud of that and excited for their future and excited for them to play together, which is going to be super cool for them,” Dan said, later adding, “We’re overall super excited and very proud of them, and just can’t wait for what the future brings.”
The Battle Ground High School softball team secured third place at the state tournament in Spokane this year, setting a historic record for the team. They ended the season with an overall record of 17-3.
