Grace White is a college senior who plays first base for Union University Bulldogs, a DII school in Jackson, Tennessee, and is majoring in Journalism. She is the Sports Editor for the Cardinal & Cream, the school’s student publication, and has a younger sister, Esther White, who plays in the Unity club organization and earlier this month committed to the University of Georgia (also the Bulldogs!):
So thankful to announce that I have decided to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Georgia! A huge thank you to God, my family, my friends, and my coaches! Go Dawgs!!!❤️🖤 @UGACoachTony @Syd_finch @chelsw20 @UGASoftball pic.twitter.com/3eBuHLvfsI
— Esther White (@EstherWhite24) October 11, 2022
In September, Esther was listed in the Top 15 of the 2024 Extra Elite 100 and part of her player bio read:
She is a 6-foot lefty hitting infielder who can bring an awesome combination of power and speed. Esther also brings a steady glove and strong arm as well. She plays shortstop and bats in the middle of the talented Johnson/Ross lineup, while playing the shortstop position 95 percent of the time. Esther had a huge high school season being named District Player of the Year, Team MVP, the Miss Softball for Middle Tennessee Class AA, and a PGF High School Futures All American. Adds Coach Josh Johnson: “Esther is an awesome young lady who brings the high academic success along with the softball talents.”
In today’s “Inside Pitch,” Grace looks back on the bond the two shared growing up… and how they’re still close today in part because of their common love of softball…
*****
Thud!
My sister Esther fell off the coffee table in our living room and started crying. I knelt beside her and tried to get her to be quiet.
“It’ll be okay. Don’t cry! I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry!”
Apparently, my words didn’t help because she got up and ran into the kitchen where our mom was sitting at the computer working on something. I knew this wasn’t going to be good for me.
We had been playing MLB 2K10 on our Wii when I swung my remote hard in an effort to hit the pitch Esther had thrown and accidently hit her in the nose, knocking her off the coffee table where she had been sitting.
“Grace! Come in here!” our mom called.
I took a deep breath and ran up the stairs into the kitchen. Esther was standing there with red, puffy eyes and a splotch on her nose, marking the place I had knocked the hide off. I just stood there waiting for the stern talking-to I was about to get.
“Now, if y’all can’t be more careful than that, you shouldn’t be playing at all.”
Esther perked up when she heard that.
“No, Mommy, we have to keep playing,” she said in her raspy, country four-year-old voice. “I don’t want her to beat me.”
Our mom looked down at the cute little face staring up at her.
“Well then I better not hear anymore complaining from either one of you.”
“You won’t!” we chorused as we ran back into the living room to finish the game.
This is how Esther and I have been our whole lives. We love to compete with and against each other. However, I’d say that Esther is more competitive than me. If she beats me, I’m over it right then and there, but if I beat her, she has to have about 20 minutes to brew and pout.
I guess that maybe comes from my being older than her. She has always wanted to outdo me at everything, and I’m glad that our relationship allows me to be okay with that. She’s my best friend, so I’ll always be the one cheering the loudest when she one-ups me. Somehow, I feel like her accomplishments are my accomplishments.
Many people have entered our lives and left, but we’ve always had each other. For that, I will forever be grateful and so will Esther
“My relationship with Grace has definitely helped me get to where I am today in softball and in life,” Esther said. “Our competitions in softball have definitely made me a better player because I can’t stand for her to outdo me, so I work to be better. She’s also taught me a ton about life and helped me grow as a person.”
From the time she was 10 years old, Esther has said she wanted to be a Georgia Bulldog.
That was before I knew if I even wanted to play college softball or not. I think softball has always been more of a love for her than it has been for me. I guess that comes from the sheer amount of competitiveness she has in her body, competitiveness that she had even before that day when we were playing 2K10 in our living room.
In February 2019, I committed to play softball as a Bulldog at Union University, a Division II school in Jackson, Tenn. I was at a point in my life where I was scared to death of college and really didn’t want to go at all.
However, it has been the best thing I could’ve ever done. I’ve learned so many big lessons, met forever friends and gotten better at my sport. I started weightlifting, which I’m excited to continue doing when I graduate. My experience has been more than anything I could’ve ever dreamed of.
While I was learning to grow, apart from my family, Esther was competing at the highest level in travel ball and practicing countless hours to make her dreams become a reality.
This didn’t come without hardships for her. Even though I wasn’t at home every day anymore, I still tried my best to be there for her by talking to her on the phone and texting her to encourage her.
There were times that she was scared that she wasn’t good enough or that she hadn’t done enough, especially the days leading up to September 1st of this year. However, that clearly wasn’t the case because she had three calls right after midnight.
Numerous top schools wanted her, and they were so kind in letting her take her time to see everything before she made her decision. Ultimately, she decided that God was leading her to the place she had been talking about since she was 10: the University of Georgia.
We’re both going to be Bulldogs… but of course, true to her nature, she had to one-up me and head to the SEC!
And for that, I couldn’t be prouder…
— Grace White, Extra Inning Softball correspondent
