The rain fell as Philadelphia pitcher Nia Luckett stood in the circle as a seventh-grader during a game in the Lady Tornadoes’ 2015 state championship series. 

The wet field conditions and softball presented an unwelcome challenge, and Luckett struggled early with her pitches. A visit from her teammate and older sister, Alyssa Davis, however, was all Luckett needed to boost her confidence.

“I couldn’t really pitch in the rain, and she came up to the mound and talked to me,” Luckett said. “After she gave me that talk, I put on a show and I struck them out.”

Philadelphia went on to defeat Mooreville that year to win the MHSAA Class 3A state championship.

Davis has since departed Philadelphia for Southern Miss, where she recently wrapped up her freshman season, and Luckett has solidified herself as Philadelphia’s ace. 

Both grew up in the softball hotbed of Philadelphia and honed their skills by routinely competing against each other. The girls’ mother, Melissa Luckett, recalled a friendly game between the two when Luckett was 7 and Davis was 10.

“When they were younger, they used to get out in the yard and just play ball together,” Melissa Luckett said. “One day, my oldest one, Tata (Alyssa), was throwing to my youngest girl, Nia, and the ball hit her glove and ricocheted and hit her face, and she said, ‘Mother, I’m not playing ball with Tata anymore — she throws too hard.’”

The competitive streak between the two girls has translated into successful athletic careers.

Davis, a 2017 Premier Preps of East Mississippi softball selection, started in 54 games at shortstop for Southern Miss as a freshman. She ended the year with a .245 batting average, 20 runs, 19 RBIs and three home runs. She also added 10 stolen bases. Her most memorable moment of the season, she said, occurred when Southern Miss defeated Ole Miss 5-2 in Oxford. Davis, a criminal justice major, went 1-for-3 with a run in the win.

“I just felt like we came together as a team that game and everybody worked as one, so the outcome was good,” Davis said. 

While Davis navigated her inaugural college season in Hattiesburg, Nia Luckett’s right arm helped lead Philadelphia through her sophomore year. She and the Lady Tornadoes reached the third round of the MHSAA Class 2A playoffs before losing to East Union. Luckett, a 2018 Premier Preps of East Mississippi softball selection, ended the year with a 2.44 ERA and 153 strikeouts. She posted a .390 batting average to go along with 23 runs, 17 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. 

Davis said her sister’s stoicism is a trait that has helped her become a dominant pitcher.

“Knowing that she has to stay headstrong throughout the game, and she can’t let outsiders affect her or stuff like that,” Davis said. “Knowing what’s on the line in whatever game it is, she knows that she has to do her job.”

Despite the distance between Hattiesburg and Philadelphia, Luckett and her mother routinely attended Southern Miss games to support Davis last season. 

“I just pop up on her,” Nia Luckett said. “She doesn’t know I’m coming or anything. And then after the games, I either text her or Snapchat her (and tell her) good job on what she did and stuff. And before the games, I text her, ‘Good luck,’ and stuff, and don’t let her know I’m coming.”

Although the sisters no longer play on the same team, they remain each other’s biggest cheerleader.

“They’re going to go and support each other when they’re playing ball,” Melissa Luckett said. “If the other one isn’t playing, they’re going to see the other one play.”

Three grades separate Davis and Luckett, but Luckett said reuniting with her older sister in Hattiesburg is a thought she eagerly ponders. But even then, the competitive nature they’ve forged years ago finds its way into the conversation.

“I plan on it, but I want to pitch against her, too,” Luckett said.