The early afternoon sun is shining down as Julie Gasper sits on the metal bleachers at Park Tudor’s baseball field.
She’s positioned directly behind home plate, Park Tudor supporters to her left, University supporters to her right with her husband, George, perched a few rows above her. The Gaspers know by the end of Saturday’s Class 2A Sectional 42 semifinal game one of their sons will be advancing to the sectional championship and the other’s junior season will be over.
“I’m rooting for everybody today,” Julie said.
The Gaspers remain neutral for this crucial tournament matchup because they have sons on both sides. David plays the corner infield positions at University. Dominic as an outfielder and pitcher at Park Tudor. The twin brothers born just 90 seconds apart are forging separate academic and athletic paths.
“It just evolved into it,” George said of having twins at different schools. “Especially with having twins, you try to raise each one to be their own person. … In some ways they’ve become better friends by separating. As they do their own things and have their own lives, they’ve also become really good friends along the way.”
While the twins prepare to face off against each other, younger brother Ryan is three days removed from winning his sectional opener as a member of Brebeuf Jesuit’s baseball team. With three sons at three different schools who all play baseball, being supportive parents is a logistical challenge.
Julie has a four-page color-coded spreadsheet to keep all the games, dates and locations squared away. She usually attends home games while George travels to away games. If one of their sons is pitching, George will choose that game to attend.
Now that their oldest sons can drive, getting everyone to practices and games is a little easier. The methodical way the family goes about navigating athletic schedules is the same way they approached their son’s academic careers. The family explored all the curriculums available to them to make sure their sons had the best choices possible.
David is a business-focused student involved with DECA and other entrepreneurial programs offered at University. Dominic is focused on math and computer science. Ryan enjoys history and science. The family also considered attending their local high school, Zionsville, but ultimately, they feel their sons’ needs are best met at three separate schools.
“Each kid has different educational needs and things that they’re interested in and wanted to focus on,” Julie said. “We let each kid choose which school they wanted to attend, and which school met their academic needs. They’re all really strong students, so their driving force is their school.”
Since University and Park Tudor play in the same sectional, the family knew there was a possibility their sons would meet in the postseason. They hoped the teams would play in the sectional championship, but Saturday’s winner advances to play Monrovia on Monday.
David’s third-inning RBI single cut University’s deficit to one. Finn Steiner tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single in the fifth. Beckett Suh put the Trailblazers ahead for good with an RBI single in the sixth.
The twins always played on the same team as youth players. David admitted that Saturday was a little weird for him and his brother, but Dominic said they still exchanged some playful trash talk before the game. David, the older brother, earned bragging rights over Dominic, but both enjoyed the time spent on the field together.
“It was fun around the house. We were trash talking a little bit,” Dominic said. “I know a bunch of the guys on his team; he knows a bunch of the guys on this team. It was just fun. Games like this, we wouldn’t get this if we were on the same team.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA baseball: Gasper twins face off in sectional semifinals
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