Whether or not the Illinois softball team comes back from Iowa with a victory, the Repole family will win.

The Tuesday doubleheader between Illinois (14-25, 4-11 Big Ten) and Iowa (24-19, 4-11) will be a special day for Illini freshman Katie Repole and Hawkeye freshman Whitney Repole.

The twin sisters will play their first collegiate games against one another — a matchup each player has looked to all season.

Third-baseman Katie said the two are always competitive, having been pitted against one another on the field for most of their lives.

The twins were able to wear the same jersey during their high school career — winning the class 4A Texas State Championship in their senior year at Smithson Valley High School in Spring Branch, Texas.

Katie said the sisters went to different schools because of which universities recruited them.

“I think it was good for us to go to different places,” Katie said. “Sometimes it’s good to get away from each other and start our own lives.”

Katie was interested in softball first when she was a kid, she said, but outfielder Whitney’s interest peaked after watching her twin sister play day in and day out.

“She got tired of going to the ballpark and watching all the games,” Katie said, laughing.

But Katie’s focus won’t entirely be on her sister Tuesday afternoon, as the Illini look to build off a weekend sweep over Indiana.

“I’m really excited to get out there and play a great team,” Katie said. “Having my sister on the team is just an added bonus.”

Head coach Terri Sullivan said that Katie is consistently a hard worker on and off the field, so the matchup against her sister will be nothing far from a usual game for the freshman.

“She’s all business when she gets on the field,” Sullivan said.

Katie has started in 30 of the 39 games this season for the Illini — compared with her sister who has started just two — and is batting .190 with five RBIs and 16 hits.

Whitney has made good use of what little playing time she has been given at Iowa — batting .250 with four RBIs on just four hits, including a home run.

Illinois sophomore Jess Perkins said that having a sister-against-sister matchup on Tuesday will give the team extra incentive to come away with a pair of wins.

Apart from the sisters’ special rivalry, Perkins said the Illini are heading into their series against Iowa believing they can pull off another sweep.

“It’s all running smoothly right now,” Perkins said. “Hopefully we are able to carry that (momentum) into the week ahead.”

Shelese Arnold, last week’s Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after throwing two shutouts against Indiana, will look to get more pitching time in the circle. However, Sullivan said the starters for Tuesday’s doubleheader series are still up in the air between Arnold and senior Pepper Gay — a pitcher running into a heap of trouble this season, throwing 123 walks and allowing 85 earned runs.

“Pepper is the leader of the staff,” Sullivan said, “But we know we will use them both throughout the series.”

No matter who’s pitching, Illinois is hoping to continue its climb back up the Big Ten standings against Iowa, with whom the Illini currently share ninth place.

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.