How the Ensley sisters feed off each other with NC State softball

When NC State softball coach Lindsay Leftwich writes the starting lineup for each game, she finds joy in putting the first two names on the sheet. It’s not something she’s done before, but the Wolfpack’s second-year skipper gets to bat a pair of sisters back-to-back.

The Ensley sisters have the opportunity to set the tone each time they step onto the field for the Pack as Tori leads off and Taylor hits directly behind her. It’s a moment that the two have been able to share for the first time this season as they were in separate parts of the order last spring. 

And it’s one the sisters don’t take for granted. It’s just their third-ever season playing together since the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out Tori’s freshman season in high school. Not only is it just one of a handful of seasons they’ve been able to share the field together, but the Ensleys are a rare breed in college softball. 

Of the 291 teams in Division I, just 15 have a pair of sisters on the active roster. When that’s narrowed down to both sisters starting every game for their respective school, NC State is one of just two programs to qualify for that statistic (ULM). 

That’s what makes this such a special campaign for the Ensleys, especially for Taylor, who played her first two seasons with the Wolfpack away from her younger sister. 

“It’s been completely different, actually, because she’s my best friend,” Taylor said of having Tori as a teammate. “It’s been really cool having her here to be able to be another support system for me. … It makes it more fun and more family-like for me on the team.”

The support system is what the two sisters have helped each other the most with when they were reunited ahead of last season. Both are tough on themselves, always looking to improve, even when things seem to be going well on the field. Their ability to lean on each other is just as important. 

Leftwich, who’s in her second year in charge of the Wolfpack, enjoys watching the way the Ensleys rely on each other.

“When one of them struggles, it’s really interesting to watch the other go and grab her by the facemask and say, ‘Hey, you’re fine. Come on. You’re fine,’” Leftwich said. “It’s a good reminder for the rest of the team that all of these people care about you in that way, it just shows up more in the sisters.”

The two sisters know what to say to one another and when. They can tell based on body language or just how things are going on the field. If Tori doesn’t get on, Taylor’s goal is to make up for it at the plate. If something happens in the outfield, the two are able to look across the diamond to reassure the other. 

It’s second nature to the sisters by now.

“I think it’s really fun because we both know how to pick each other up,” Tori said. “We know when one of us is feeling down, you can just see it. We can pick up each other’s slack and know how to lift each other up.”

In a way, they’ve both helped the other improve just as people this season. Leftwich has noticed it since the offseason. 

“I think their overall self-belief has blossomed in the last year,” Leftwich said. “In our first year here, I saw a ton of self-doubt in both of them. They would get results and have all these reasons to be excited and they were just finding these reasons why it wasn’t good enough.”

The Ensleys are just two of the players to start every game for the Wolfpack this season — Hannah Goodwin is the other. Tori is hitting .301 with nine doubles, a home run and 11 RBI, while Taylor brings more pop in her bat with a.284 average, four doubles, two triples, six home runs and 18 RBI. 

As NC State (16-10, 0-3 ACC) prepares to hold its first ACC home series against Notre Dame at the Dail Softball Stadium this weekend, the two sisters will be pivotal in getting the Wolfpack off to a fast start at the plate. They’ve been able to feed off one another and the Pack hopes that continues moving forward.

Leftwich hasn’t ever coached a pair of sisters at the same time. She wasn’t sure how it would go, at first, but it has been a positive experience for everyone involved. At the end of the day, the Ensleys are stronger with the other one around. 

“The Ensleys together on the same team, because they are so similar, they just build each other up,” Leftwich said. “I think they make each other better.”