Cassie, Joelle sisters in sports

You can’t tell it by looking at them, but Cassie Baddeley and Joelle Krist are sisters - not by birth, but by spirit.

Their bond began with sports when they were 3-year-olds tossing balls around at their siblings’ varsity athletic endeavors. Over the next decade, that friendship grew to the point where, now in their senior year at Petaluma High School, they are practically inseparable, both on and off the playing fields.

Krist is never asked what she is doing on a particular evening or Baddeley what her weekend plans are. It is always, “What are you and Cassie doing tonight?” or, “What are you and Joelle doing this weekend?”

“We’re a package deal,” says Krist.

They began playing organized sports as 5-year-olds in the Petaluma Youth Soccer League. Basketball and softball soon followed. They have been teammates ever since.

Ironically, the sports that brought together two of the most successful athletes ever at Petaluma high school is about to take them apart.

After the softball season and graduation, each will head in separate directions for college.

Krist, a gifted national athlete, will go to the University of Arizona on a softball scholarship.

Baddeley, who excelled as much on determination and competiveness as she did on natural talent, will continue her education at either Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or UC Davis. She says she doesn’t intend to play sports competitively in college, although she plans to stay active with intramural competition.

“I’m not going to have any break from sports,” Krist points out. “July 13 is my first day of summer school.”

“I’m going down a different path,” Baddeley says. “It is sad to give up sports, but I don’t want the pressure of sports in college.”

Krist and Baddeley share more than friendship. They share a mutual love for sports of all kinds, a love that has made them part of a vanishing breed - genuine three-sport athletes. Both excel in basketball and softball. The only time they are not teammates is in the fall, when Krist plays volleyball and Baddeley soccer.

“I started liking volleyball in junior high school, and I just kept playing in high school,” Krist says.

“Soccer has always been my passion,” Baddeley says.

Not only are they three-sport athletes, they are three-sport stars.

Last season, both were all-league in each of their three chosen sports. This year, Baddeley is on track to repeat, having already earned all-league honors in soccer and basketball.

Krist just missed honors in volleyball, but was chosen the Sonoma County League’s Most Valuable Player in basketball.

Although league play hasn’t yet started in softball, Krist’s .800-plus batting average in pre-league play suggests she might be in line for similar honors in that sport.

Baddeley, too, has an excellent chance for repeat recognition in softball.

Excellence in any sport comes with a price. Excellence in three sports comes with a heavy price.

For Baddeley and Krist, the price is lack of sleep, constant travel and a schedule that often looks like a kindergartener’s crayon drawing.

If the girls aren’t at a game, there is always practice, and it isn’t just the high school practice and games, it is also participation in club sports.

It isn’t unusual for the two to finish practice in one sport and hustle to practice in another, not finishing until well past dinner time.

Homework is sometimes done in the car on their way to practice.

Despite the hectic schedule, both athletes have managed to remain exceptional students. Baddeley maintained a 4.0 grade point average during her very difficult junior year, while Krist kept her GPA at 3.50.

Krist’s favorite sport is obvious - softball. She was good enough to catch the attention of University of Arizona coaches as a sophomore and verbally committed to play for one of the best softball programs in the country as a junior before making it official by signing a Letter of Intent earlier this year.

Through six games in her senior season, she has 14 hits in 23 at bats for a .737 batting average. More than half her hits have been for extra bases and include three homers, three doubles and two triples.

Baddeley is torn between basketball and soccer, with a slight edge given to soccer. “I love basketball with all my heart, but my body gets worn out a little. I could play soccer forever,” she explains.

Both athletes credit their supportive families, and especially their parents, with helping them maintain their hectic lifestyles and allowing them to excel at so many sports.

“I didn’t realize how much time my parents spent just getting me around until I started driving,” says Joelle.

Now, the end is near for a lifestyle that has bonded their friendship for almost all their lives.

But not the end of their friendship.

“Without a doubt we will always be friends,” Baddeley says.

“It is bittersweet,” Krist says as the two three-sport stars prepare to go in different directions.

But not just yet. Petaluma’s softball team, with Krist at first base and Baddeley in center field, still has a Sonoma County League championship to defend and a North Coast Section title to pursue.