​Pictured: Charisma and Chloe hold the trophy they got for finishing as runners-up in the CIF Div. VIII high school playoffs.

One player we were looking forward to seeing play this weekend in the Dirtdogs Team Mizuno Fall Showcase was 2017 pitcher Chloe Romero, who is committed to Texas.

But we found out the righty hurler won’t be playing for her Dirtdogs team for a good reason: she’s back in Boston with her younger sister, Charisma, a 2018 catcher who is taking an unofficial visit to Boston College.

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The two siblings are from Helendale, Calif. and this spring helped their high school, the Academy of Careers and Exploration (ACE), finish 2nd in the CIF Div. VII playoffs.

That they play at such a high level while living in the high desert town of Helendale, Calif. is a testament to the sisters’ dedication to the sport as well as their parents.

Helendale is located between Victorville and Barstow and is about 15 miles off the I-15 freeway which connects Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The family admits their hometown isn’t really close to much, especially when it comes to softball.

“Helendale is a small community and there isn’t a whole lot there,” laughs the girls mother, Beatriz. “I stay home so I get them where they need to be.”

And that includes the youngest sister, Clarissa, an eighth grader who plays volleyball and does cheer.

To do anything for softball, however, the family has to drive 90 minutes one way—be it club practice for Chloe with the Dirtdogs and Charisma with the OC Batbusters-Briggs team or pitching lessons for Chloe at 3 Up 3 Down pitching academy in Riverside and catching lessons for Chloe with Jen Schroeder in Anaheim.

The girls’ father, Ariel, works at Northrup-Grumman out of Mojave and he drives an hour each way to work.  There are many days when the patriarch of the family drives home, picks up Charisma and then drives to Anaheim for catching practice, a two-hour plus commute each way.

“He drives a reliable 2007 Toyota Camry and has already put 340,000 miles on it,” says Beatriz.

You would think that have to drive three hours round trip to get to practices or lessons would be a major nuisance, but the girls and their mother say it’s quite the opposite.

“It’s gotten to a point where we don’t look as a sacrifice,” she says.  “It’s a privilege to spend that much time with my kids and we look at it as family time together.  Many other families have their kids out doing things where they never see them, while we’re doing things as a family.  I think we’ve all grown to appreciate that time in the car together.

Charisma, who was in the car driving to the LAX airport with her mother to head to Boston when we spoke to her, says the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices they’ve all had to make.

“I think the opportunities softball has given me have been amazing,” she states. “I don’t look at it (the travel) as a sacrifice. I get to travel to different states that I haven’t been to before and get to make amazing bonds with amazing teammates, meet new people and new places and spend time with family.”

The family time isn’t just relegated to driving, either.  The sisterly battery has a pitching mound and catching box in their backyard and Charisma says she and Chloe work together well.

“She’s definitely pushed me to get better,” the younger sister explains. “We’ll tell each other if there’s something that needs to be fixed and we’re conformable giving good constructive criticism to each other.  It helps us out a lot.”

Whatever they’re doing has worked.

Chloe, who first got noticed by the Longhorns through the pitching academy in May of 2013 when she was in the eighth grade, committed to Texas in December of that year, the winter of her freshman year at ACE.

She had visited Oklahoma and Penn State as well and was getting more and more attention because of her good change-up and off-speed pitches.

As a sophomore, Chloe went 18-6 with 265 strikeouts in 144 innings and only gave up 20 walks.  She also batted .475.

A class younger, Charisma is being recruited by Hawaii as well as Boston College because of her powerful bat. As a freshman she hit .590 with nine home runs in 78 at-bats and, impressively, only struck out twice all year.

Their significant car time going back and forth has also had another benefit: great study time as well as power naps.

“We’ve learned to do our homework in car,” laughs Charisma.  “We also get to sleep and I get some good naps on the way! I like it, it’s our lifestyle and we don’t known any better."

The results have been that both high schoolers are carrying 4.3 weighted GPA’s.  Charisma says she’d like to study Sociology and become an Occupational Therapist.  At the Univ. Texas, Chloe wants to study Criminal Justice so she can someday join the FBI.

Til then, if you’re driving one of Southern California’s infamous freeways—be it the 15, 91, 55, 57, 405 or Interstate 10--make note the next time you see a Toyota Camry passing by.  

It’s quite possible if the car has a parent and teen-aged daughter, it could be a softball player on an hour and a half drive to perfect her craft.