During the Torero Classic in San Diego last month, Alycia Flores smacked a line drive towards third base. But the ball didn’t land safely in the outfield for a base hit. It nailed Eliyah Flores right in the shoulder.
Alycia walked over. But instead of showing concern with Eliyah on the ground writhing in pain, she bent down and said:
“You should have seen me turn in on that pitch. You knew she was coming up and in on me.”
The interaction perfectly sums up the sisters’ relationship. It’s one that the Boise State softball team has benefited from over the last two seasons.
They’ll both be in action when the Broncos (12-10) open up Mountain West Conference play on the road at UNLV (14-10) at 8 p.m. (MST) Friday.
“It’s always comical,” Boise State softball coach Justin Shults said. “They’re so much fun to be around.”
Eliyah is the oldest. The graduate senior is a starting infielder. She’s second on the team in RBIs (18), second in hits (18) third in doubles (4) and third in home runs (4).
Alycia, who is exactly 13 months younger, is a redshirt junior and a starting outfielder. She is first in stolen bases (2), second in doubles (5), third in RBIs (15) and fifth in hits (13).
Alycia Flores greets her teammates before playing a game in the 2023 GCU Invitational. (Photo courtesy of Boise State Athletics)
They’ve played alongside each other in the starting lineup for all 22 games this season for the Broncos. This is nothing new to them, though.
The Flores sisters have done everything together: gymnastics, soccer, basketball and even tap dancing. But softball is what has forever bonded them.
Both parents and older sister Desitinee Hogue played. Hogue was at Alabama State. Father Jimmy runs a hitting business called Flores House of Power in their hometown of Colton, CA. So it only made sense for them to follow suit.
Eliyah was all in on the sport from the get-go. Alycia took a little bit longer deciding. She also had a love for soccer. But it wasn’t nearly enough to leave her best friend behind.
Eliyah Flores looks into the distance before stepping into the batters box. (Photo courtesy of Boise State Athletics)
“She’s my role model,” said Alycia of her sister.
So the two wreaked havoc at Grand Terrace High School in Southern California.
They combined for seven all-league teams. Eliyah was the MVP of the Sunkist League. Alycia was a top-100 recruit by both FloSoftball and Extra Innings. It all resulted in them winning the 2016 CIF Division 3 State Championship together.
“I think a lot of people always dream of playing with siblings and it’s not something that happens a lot to anybody,” Eliyah said. “So for it to happen with us, it was a blessing.
“It’s just something that you can’t replicate.”
But they did. Two other times in fact.
The dynamic duo first took their talents 1,300 miles east to the University of Oklahoma.
Eliyah played in 91 games there before Alycia arrived for the 2020 campaign. Eliyah was the everyday starter at third base and Alycia was hitting .304 before the coronavirus pandemic ended the season prematurely. It was their first and only time playing together in Norman.
They elected to redshirt the following year before going into the transfer portal. The two didn’t really go into specifics about the exact reasoning why. But Eliyah did admit to thinking her collegiate career might be over.
“Sometimes people find themselves not happy with where they’re at in life in general. It’s not really just about softball,” Eliyah said. “So I think I just needed to explore more options and give myself more opportunities to explore different places, whether that be softball or a different school in general.”
She and Alycia both sat at home as the Sooners won the national title that year. But less than a week later, they received a phone call that changed both of their lives forever.
Shults was named the new Boise State head softball coach on Jan. 16, 2021 – five days after Oklahoma’s fifth national championship in program history. He was already quite familiar with the Flores sisters.
He was an assistant coach at Fresno State during their high school days and watched Eliyah play for Oklahoma in person at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge when he was at the University of Oregon. So immediately upon taking the job, one of his first calls was to them.
“We really took a chance on them because there was such a big gap in their time at OU and their time with us,” Shults said.
“But I knew the athletes that they were and I knew that they were going to fit into what we stood for as a coaching staff and where we wanted the program to go.”
The Flores sisters leapt at the opportunity.
“We had no intention of playing together. We were trying to find a home for (Alycia),” Eliyah said. “But then he offered both of us the opportunity. So it was like, ‘How do you not take that?’
“I took it as a sign from God that this is meant to be. It’s meant to happen again. We’re meant to play together and make some memories.”
That’s exactly what they’ve done too.
Against No. 9 Arizona last season, Eliyah and Alycia each hit home runs in back-to-back innings. Alycia went yard first before Eliyah came up the very next inning and did the same. Those scenes were a common occurrence that year.
Eliyah started 47-of-48 games, hit .323, totaled 34 runs, 42 hits, nine doubles, two triples, four home runs, 25 RBIs and 10-multi-hit games for All-Mountain West first-team honors.
Alycia made the All-Mountain West second team with 42 starts, 51 hits, eight doubles, seven home, 34 RBS and 34 runs.
Naturally, Eliyah had to rub it in a little.
Although, the most home runs are usually the determining factor on who gets bragging rights they said.
Their competitiveness isn’t just limited to softball either. Cornhole games are quite the spectacle back home.
“There’s never a dull moment,” Shults said. “They’re very competitive in nature not only against our opponents, but with each other. They’re always chirping at each other in a fun and loving way.”
Like the time when Eliyah was trying to help Alycia with her swing during a game at Utah State last season. Alycia had struck out and was heading back to the dugout. Eliyah was the first to greet her. But Alycia told her to ‘shut up’ and kept walking on by.
“We’re very competitive,” Alycia said with a laugh. “When we’re doing stuff together, whether it’s racing or how hard we’re hitting a ball or catching a ball, we’re always looking at each other to see who’s gonna mess up first.”
It’s not always like that, though. They did just come up with a home run chest bump celebration at home plate.
“Those sister moments are very heartfelt feelings,” Eliyah said. “So every time we get a chance to have a moment like that, it’s pretty awesome.”
But it looked like there wasn’t going to be any more of those this season.
Eliyah originally elected not to return to the program even with one more year left of eligibility. She even went through senior night and posted a lengthy goodbye on social media to the program that had given her a second chance.
“She was beat up a little bit,” Shults said. “So I think in the moment it felt like the right decision to stop playing softball and go start her life.”
Eliyah did just that. She got a real job and started giving hitting and fielding lessons back home. But it all didn’t feel right.
“I didn’t know what to do. So I prayed super hard on it,” Eliyah said. “But I had this feeling that my story wasn’t finished. I knew I had a lot more in the tank. It didn’t matter the age or how long I’ve taken off. I knew I had a lot more to offer to this program.”
So at the eleventh hour in January, she called Shults. But he originally said no.
However, the assistant coaches and even his own wife, convinced him otherwise. Eliyah quickly enrolled into a master’s program and was good to go for one last ride with her sister.
Alycia Flores waits in the outfield in-between pitches. (Photo courtesy of Boise State Athletics)
“It’s very bittersweet. People don’t know all the emotions of it all, the difficulties physical-wise, the staying up late and putting in the extra hours of work behind closed doors,” Eliyah said. “So to know that’s all paying off and this is officially it, we’re just really trying to soak it all in and enjoy every moment we get together because we’re never gonna get this back.”
They and the Broncos have some unfinished business this year, too.
Despite going 40-10 – tied a school record for the most wins in a single season – Boise State was left out of the NCAA Tournament last year. So Shults got with athletic director Jeramiah Dickey in the offseason to beef up the nonconference schedule. Already, the Broncos have played five top-25 teams, including No. 8 Stanford twice. They do own wins over the likes of Michigan and Wichita State – both of which were NCAA Tournament teams a year ago.
“We absolutely can be a team that people aren’t gonna want to see our name pop up in their regional,” Shults said. “So for us, we just have to make sure our resume is good enough. And if not, we have to win our conference. So at the end of the day, we know we can control our own destiny.”
The Flores sisters should help with that, as well. They go just as hard at each other than actual opponents, after all.
“I think when it’s all said and done, when they’re both done with their career here, I think you’re gonna see Boise State’s future, at least in my tenure here, was set up a lot because of those two kids,” Shults said. “They’ve helped create that blue collar mentality for us and they’ve helped us have a lot of immediate success.”
