Years ago, Mike Stith’s Orange County Batbusters youth travel softball team dropped their first game at nationals.

Losing in the first round in the tournament meant playing significantly more games, working through the loser’s bracket and playing six contests the day before the championship for 15 consecutive hours. Maya Brady was sick and Tiare Jennings was exhausted from the amount of games their team had played.

“That’s probably our most special and fun memory looking back on them,” Maya’s mother, Maureen Brady, told The Oklahoman.

Fast forward nearly a decade, Brady's and Jennings’ run-in at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City this past week made the rounds on social media. Brady, now a star shortstop at UCLA, and Jennings, one of the greatest players in OU history and third on the all-time home run list, have been like sisters since their time on the Batbusters and couldn’t contain their excitement seeing each other.

Before the two faced off Saturday afternoon on Maya’s birthday, Tiare texted her, "No matter the outcome, I love you. I'm rooting for you."

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They always support each other, even though the Sooners narrowly defeated the Bruins 1-0 in an old-school pitching duel where Jennings hit a solo home run.

“It was really special,” said Maureen, who comes from an athletic family as the sister of seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady and who twice led Fresno State to the WCWS. “We love their family and the girls have such a special relationship and friendship from playing so many years together. It's fun to watch both of them on the field.”

Before Maya Brady and Tiare Jennings were teammates with the Batbusters they were opponents in little league and took private hitting lessons together.

Now, Jennings sits second all-time on OU’s career home run list, while Brady sits second all-time on UCLA’s career home run list. Saturday’s contest is one they’ll remember forever.

“It was super special, me and her go way back,” Jennings said. “We know, no matter what, the love runs deep, way more than softball.

“We have that sisterhood like no other.”

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Throughout their collegiate careers Maya and Tiare have lived over 1,300 miles apart and the WCWS has become a place where childhood softball memories are rekindled on the diamond.

OU and UCLA have met in the WCWS four times during their careers, with Tiare and the Sooners boasting a 3-1 record. Maya crushed two home runs during the June 6, 2022, matchup.

The Bruins are still alive in this year’s tournament and a rematch in the championship series remains a possibility.

“I always love seeing her,” Brady said. “Obviously, we stopped going to school together, so this is the stadium where we get to see each other play a lot. I love watching her do her thing and live out her dream.”

While it’s always all love off the field, the two are fiercely competitive.

Whenever Brady and Jennings would work out or practice together, they’d mess with each other to try and get in the other’s head.

“I see her and I'm like, ‘Hey, you're too slow to go catch that little flyer,’” Jennings said. “And she looks at me and laughs. No matter how competitive we are, the love runs deep for the Batbusters. For me and her, it's a full-circle moment on the field.”

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Stith observed the friendly competition day-in and day-out throughout their teenage years. Both infielders and a year apart in age, a natural competitiveness brewed.

Brady played second base and Jennings played shortstop for the Batbusters and the two complimented each other, forming the most lethal infield in youth softball.

“They both had strengths that were different,” Stith told The Oklahoman. “Both of them motivated each other. If you have people that want to be great and know this is what they're going to do, exceptionalism shows in how they prepare. They would push each other, they would communicate with each other.

“When one was down, one went up, one would push, but that's what allowed that unique friendship to come together so much.”

Outside of travel ball, Maya starred at Oaks Christian High School in Thousand Oaks, California, and hit .558 as a senior. Maya was ranked the No. 2 recruit in the nation by FloSoftball and chose to stay close to home and play for the Bruins.

Tiare took home the 2019-20 Gatorade Softball Player of the Year award in California and while she admired UCLA growing up, she signed with the Sooners and bought into Patty Gasso’s culture.

With their leadership, Maya and Tiare helped mold several Batbuster teammates who signed with Division I programs.

“Both of them we've had since they were 10 years old,” Stith said. “To watch them where they're at now is quite unique. It's more than watching two good players play when you know the backstory, the friendship, how tight they are and how well they played together and how they helped develop so many good players.”

In 2019, Mark Campbell, who coached the 14U Batbusters and some of the best players in softball history including Maya and Tiare, tragically died after feeling ill while coaching and being rushed to the hospital.

Tiare honored Campbell by shouting him out during her postgame press conference Saturday.

“(Maya and Tiare) were always at the forefront of helping everybody get through that,” Stith said. “Those are memories you never forget. They understand things that are more than just the win of a game, the score of a game or what jersey you're wearing.”

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‘When you win, I win’

Not only have Maya and Tiare created an everlasting bond, but the Brady and Jennings families have grown close as well.

The Jennings even celebrated Maya’s career at her senior day at UCLA this season.

“The Brady family is top notch,” Maria, Tiare’s mother, told The Oklahoman while tailgating in the Devon Park lot pregame Saturday. “They are kind and loving and the best family, from the parents, to Maureen and Maya’s sister. For the last eight years they have been a part of our lives.”

Even thousands of miles away, both families keep up with how the other is performing in their games.

“We love watching Tiare, it's fun even being at UCLA, watching all of her success and how well she's done at OU,” Maureen said. “We always knew she was going to be great, she was a great player when she was young and it's been fun to watch her maturation and the success that she's had in her career. They've always supported each other and as soon as the game's over and the rest of the time, they’re super great friends.”

Not seeing one another every weekend during tournaments anymore, the Women’s College World Series has also become an event that reconnects the families.

They keep in touch throughout the season, but when both Maya and Tiare make it to the grandest stage in the sport, it’s hard not to become sentimental. Sitting on opposite sides of the stadium in different colors, both families are rooting for the same two players.

“When you spend so much time with people on the travel ball circuit from 12 years old to 18, you become family,” Maureen said. “So when we see them at the World Series, it feels so comfortable and normal and we’re looking forward to seeing each other.”

It’s possible Saturday’s contest was Maya and Tiare’s final collegiate game as opponents. The Bruins face Stanford at 6 p.m. Sunday in an elimination game for a spot in the semifinals against Texas.

Maureen took a second to reflect on the families’ journeys.

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“Their careers are coming to an end and you look back and appreciate everything,” Maureen said. “I'm so grateful and thankful that softball brought their family into our family and we're going to be forever friends. Now we root for Fa’atele and Elai and they root for my daughter, Hannah, it's fun.

“Softball comes to an end, all sports come to an end at some point. But the relationships that you make along the way are the best part of the whole thing.”

It’s rare for elite athletes at the top of their game who played together throughout their childhood to remain close friends and make an effort to stay in contact. They text, Snapchat and share social media posts with each other.

During the offseason in California, Maya and Tiare could be found at the beach or at Los Angeles Angels games.

“It's really inspiring to watch that they're really good friends even now,” Stith said. “They're probably tighter now because they can relate to the pressures of what they're doing more than most, so it's even more of a unique friendship.”

More eyes than ever are on college softball and playing for two of the most historic brands in the sport undoubtedly brings expectations. On Saturday morning before their game, Maya responded to Tiare’s birthday text with a message, “When you win, I win. No matter the outcome, we love each other.”

Those that know them best weren’t surprised when the video of them embracing was posted on the NCAA softball’s official X account.

“They are goofballs,” Maria said. “They are so dorky and hilarious together and we see a side of them that probably not many people see. In that video, see how they were? They're always like that, they're so nerdy. It's hilarious.”

Years after playing in that regional tournament until they couldn’t stand any longer, Maya and Tiare are still playing the game they love. In the first inning of Saturday’s contest, Jennings advanced to second base where Maya was covering following a wild pitch.

Tiare patted Maya as the two smiled and laughed.

The moment was a small detail in the grand scheme of things. But for those two and their families on the biggest stage playing for the ultimate prize, Maya and Tiare’s bond was on display for perhaps the final time.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Inside WCWS reunion of OU star Tiare Jennings, UCLA's Maya Brady