There’s no sibling rivalry among the Huffs.

Well, there might be sibling razzing.

But that’s about it for Lawrence High junior Danielle Huff and her freshman sister, Drew.

Drew, who leads the LHS softball team in every significant offensive category, has been a boon to the Lions this season and has helped her sister develop, too.

“It’s good for us,” Danielle said. “I help push her, she helps push me.”

Even better, she said the Lions had benefited the most.

“We’ve been playing pretty good lately, and I think a lot of it’s because of her.”

No kidding.

The Lions (7-8) took Shawnee Mission Northwest, one of the state’s top teams, to 11 innings before losing, 2-0, Thursday night. It’s no coincidence that Drew went 3-for-5. Before that, LHS had won three of four.

Danielle, left, and Drew Huff have driven the Lawrence High softball team this season.

“I thought Drew would contribute on defense,” LHS coach Reenie Stogsdill said. “She has exceeded my expectations offensively. To come in as a freshman and hit that well in the Sunflower League isn’t easy to do.”

Drew was uneasy being the only freshman on varsity, but once she showcased her talents — and simply relaxed — she thrived.

“After we played a couple of games and I got to know everybody, I felt more like myself,” Drew said. “I can relax, say whatever and not worry about anyone.”

Thank big sister for a smooth start.

“She can be kinda shy,” Danielle said. “At first when she came up, I wanted to make sure she would feel comfortable. Some of the girls might give her a hard time because she’s a freshman, but that’s it.”

Talk about looking out for family.

Dissension? No way

If there’s a hint of jealousy, it rarely rears up.

For her part, Danielle has settled into playing the hot corner at third base and hitting fourth, one spot behind Drew. Stogsdill said the junior hadn’t seemed sheepish about her sister’s role and didn’t think Danielle tried to over-compensate.

Instead, she’s gotten better.

“I don’t think it’s a push thing,” Stogsdill said. “Danielle is just so much more confident this season. There’s something about having her sister here that makes her feel more at home.”

If there’s an area in which Danielle, who also plays volleyball and is a cheerleader, needs to mimic her sister, it’s her ability to rebound from bad at-bats.

“Danielle has done a great job for us at third base,” Stogsdill said. “The thing she needs to learn is not to let failure get her down. If you can’t handle the failure, you’re not gonna succeed at this game.”

Drew, who has played shortstop, second base and center field for the Lions, seems to have that down.

She leads LHS in batting average (.421), on-base percentage (.431), slugging percentage (.544), hits (24), doubles (7), runs (13) and RBIs (10).

In fact, she’s hitting more than 100 points better than Danielle, which provides Drew with some ammunition for good-natured razzing.

“We talk about batting average, and I’ll say, ‘You’re two years older than me, but I have the higher average. What’s up with that?'”

Danielle is third in most offensive categories, hitting .303 and slugging .333 with seven RBIs. She only has six errors (an .805 fielding percentage), three more than Drew, but Danielle has that covered.

“She can say how much more range she has or whatever,” she said. “But that’s because she’s 10 feet farther back.”

A family affair

Despite the Lions’ record, Danielle said there might be an even bigger benefactor to Drew’s varsity experience — their folks, Debbie and Darrell.

“I think the happiest people have been our parents,” she said. “Now they don’t have to worry about going to two different games, traveling to JV games and splitting time. They just get to watch one game.”

Danielle has been the key in all this.

Drew has held the big stick, but her sister made the transition that much easier. And without the little things, where would Drew be?

“At the start, I might have done something I wasn’t supposed to, and she’d tell me not to, kept me from running,” Drew said. “That was nice.”

It’s just what a sister does.