UNCW softball team sports 3 sets of sisters from central North Carolina

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- The University of North Carolina at Wilmington's softball team has had a fantastic season so far and many credit the sisterhood of the team for the success.

The team has 3 sets of sisters on the squad, and all of them are from central North Carolina.

Arial and Amberlyn Pearce of Johnston County are a few years apart. Even though Arial has injury keeping her in the dugout, Amberlyn feels her presence when she's on the mound.

"I'm probably getting on their nerves because I'll be at the end of the dugout and see Amby going out and pitch and be like, oh, got to go to the front of the dugout. I lose my voice at the end of the game but it's worth it," Arial said.

For the Jones of Rocky Mount, they've both battled injuries this season. Mary graduated early to be on the same team as Kacey, who's a senior. They say some of their experiences off the field have made them closer.

We've gotten to see each other grow here going through all the stuff we've been through, we've been here for each other. For a while we were in the training room together spending a lot of time together."

The Winsteads are both freshman from Bunn, and they credit bonding events like beach days and dinner at El Cerro to making this team a family.

"Our team is really close. We hang outside of practice and games all the time. And a lot of us have played with each other for a really long time."

Emily Winstead was just named among the top 25 freshman of the year candidates. The team is taking on Elon on Friday.