The Manca Mentality: Cousins star for Narragansett softball

As with most softball teams, the Narragansett Regional High pitcher and catcher have spent more than their share of time on the field together.

The Warriors' battery worked their way up together from town rec league to the high school team. They're familiar with each other’s game, personalities and strategies. They share the same tenacity and competitiveness for the game, as well as the passion for sport.

They are both leaders on the team and bring their shared experience of softball, offering depth to the Warriors’ roster. Their connection goes even deeper, though, because they also share something else – their last name.

They have been teammates since birth.

Mia and Gianna Manca are cousins – both sophomores at Narragansett Regional. The pair of athletes grew up close, their families living in the same town. From a young age, they, along with their siblings (Mia’s older brother Payton and Gianna’s twin sister Jessalyn), have participated in sports.

“Our whole family is just a huge support system,” Gianna said.

“Our dads are very close, and they have the same personality, and that entire family is very loud,” Mia laughed. “I would say both our families are supportive, they are very competitive about sports so that is where we get it from. They are really good role models.”

Unbreakable bond

The Manca cousins don't just share the diamond together, they've both been starters on the field hockey team for the last two seasons.

“We both have joking personalities so we joke with each other and our teammates sometimes think we are being serious,” Mia said. “But when you’ve grown up with a person, it's easy to do that.”

They both agree that their solid relationship translates to their performance during a game, an important factor especially since they have to work together constantly. With Mia in the circle and Gianna behind the plate, a strong bond is key to seeing positive results. They are also quick to give each other praise, humble about their own success and excited to give one another the spotlight.

“Mia brings a lot of good energy and she’s very competitive… I think her being so happy playing the sports makes everyone else happy,” Gianna said. “She's someone everyone looks up to because she’s so good at softball and she’s that model player.”

“Gianna, she’s very close to all the players so it’s easy to have that comfortable (leadership) role, she's also our only catcher so that is a key role,” Mia added.

During Narragansett’s game against Gardner, Mia and Gianna demonstrated their relationship perfectly in a moment during a timeout. Mia, who was on second base, ran over to talk to Gianna at first. The two shared some conversation, but then quickly began shadow boxing each other, laughing and joking around. As Gardner wrapped up their timeout conversation, the cousins snapped back into game mode and took their places as baserunners once again.

Get to know the Mancas: Q & A

Sunflower seeds during a game: Yay or Nay?

G: Yay. Absolutely yay.

M: Yay.

What about gum?

G: I used to have a huge thing of Dubble Bubble in my bag until somebody decided to leave the cover open…

M: I ate it all. And it spilled.

Best softball memory?

M: My favorite memory was when I went to Colorado with my club team.

G: Probably one of the tournaments, we used to go to Concord for North County (club team), one of the far away tournaments we had when we got to stay in hotels.

Biggest sports inspiration?

M: For me I would say my brother.

G: Mia Manca right here. She’s my inspiration!

What are your nicknames?

M: The team calls me Monkey, Monka – we both get called Monka for our last name. And Gianna calls me Manc.

G: I'm just called G or Gina.

What are your favorite college or pro teams to watch?

M: For softball it’d be Florida State, for field hockey UNC.

G: Yeah I like watching Texas softball or Florida State.

What is your biggest personal goal in softball?

M: My personal goal is to play in college. My personal high school goal, I would like to get more hits than I did the year before.

G: I also want to play in college. I want to hit an outside-of-the-park home run in high school.