It had been a while since Wooster's skilled second baseman Matthew Johnson had competed against his biggest rival, but that all changed this spring. Now his sister Kelley is on campus and the two are back at it again, and picking a winner will be harder than ever.

Sports were always a big deal at the Johnson house growing up. Matthew and Kelley's dad was a standout baseball player in high school, and going outside to play simulated games with him was a regular occurrence.

"I was Matthew's sidekick," recalls Kelley.

"We were always rivals," added Matthew. "We competed against each other all the time, in baseball, basketball, everything."

Now several years removed from their last backyard battle, Matthew is enjoying his best statistical season to date as a senior with the nationally-ranked College of Wooster baseball team, and his freshman sister Kelley is also turning heads on one of the winningiest softball teams in recent history. And while the siblings are both donning Wooster's black and old gold, they have still managed to resume their special rivalry with one another.

"We'll call each other up or send a text message after each game to see how the other one did, and how many hits they got," explained Matthew. "We're always supportive towards each other, but if one of us did a little better than the other, it can get a little touchy."

It's hard to believe that there could be much bickering between the two this season, as both Matthew and Kelley are putting up impressive numbers while leading their respective teams to winning seasons.

Just past the season's midpoint, Matthew has posted a .431 batting average and is tied for the team-lead with six home runs, both numbers representing career-highs. He is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, topping the nine-gamer he was on early in the season, and has only been held hitless twice in 26 games.

Kelley knows a thing or two about hitting as well, as she broke softball's all-time record earlier this month with a staggering 17-game hit streak. She's now batting .453 and has amassed 34 hits, which would have led the team a season ago – but there are still at least 14 more games to be played in Wooster's 2010 campaign.

"Matthew doesn't even look at the statistics, but I keep tabs on his batting average," jokes Kelley. "We both don't like to tell too many people about our accomplishments. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think the hitting streak was awesome. But I'm more excited about the season that our team is having then the individual accolades."

Both siblings are nothing but humble about their accomplishments at the plate, but neither can withstand getting worked up when discussing their glove skills in the middle infield. The two both recall as children spending countless hours together throwing balls against the wall and catching them, and that practice has carried over in their careers.

"Playing second base, I'm always involved in the action," explained Kelley. "I get to communicate with teammates and let people know what's going on. And honestly, making a double play is the best feeling I can have out there."

"I agree. I'm all about defense," added Matthew. "But coming up with a big hit is not too far behind."

Matthew, a psychology major, and Kelley, who will declare a communications major later this year, admit that having each other around this season has been a pleasant change. But like most sibling rivalries, the Johnson's still have some kinks that need to be worked out.

"When we're together, she [Kelley] has always been known as Matthew's sister, but lately I've had a couple people call me Kelley's brother," said Matthew. "I've also had my teammates joke that I'm only the second-best ballplayer named Johnson at Wooster, but I'm not sure about that one."