PINETOWN — It’s often said that identical twin sisters have an uncanny sixth sense, an ability to know what the other is thinking at any given moment. Appearance aside, oddities like completing each other’s sentences and synchronized gestures are usually at the most common of these peculiarities.

Separated by two years, Kelsey and Rachel Lang are not identical or even fraternal in nature; yet, they seem to be on the same page. And while the pair may not know exactly what’s on the other’s mind, the duo shares one common quality — making opposing batters swing and miss, though the way they do it is hardly alike.

“Kelsey is our senior, more experienced, but both those girls are our aces and I don’t know which one I’ll throw out there on any given day to be honest with you,” said Northside head softball coach Riley Youmans. “It depends on who throws the most during the weekend, how they feel that day. And when you have two aces like that, you can’t complain at all.”

In the season opener at Ayden-Grifton, it was Kelsey who got the call, hurling six innings of three-hit ball (one unearned run). The Panthers’ senior challenged batters with a series of off-speed pitches — rise balls, change ups and curves — before being pulled in the seventh.

“Kelsey started and did an excellent job, but eventually they timed her a little bit,” Youmans said. “You put Rachel in and it’s totally different as far as timing both those girls. It really makes an excellent rotation.”

Rachel entered in a 1-1 game and completely shut down the Chargers, retiring all six batters she faced, four via the strikeout, giving Northside a 3-1, extra-inning win.

But an injury to Kelsey, a small chipped bone in the right hand, would sideline her for the next two weeks, temporarily passing down the role of Panthers’ ace to her sister.

Rachel, a freshman on last year’s 21-2 team, posted a 3-0 record, a microscopic 0.48 ERA and an impressive 51 strikeouts in 29 innings. A raw talent to say the least, the younger Lang relied mostly on a power arm to compliment Kelsey in the later innings, throwing an entirely different look at batters when called upon.

This season, Rachel has added more than just sheer speed to her arsenal of pitches, incorporating a rise ball and a suspended changeup in the offseason. And the adjustments have showed.

In Kelsey’s absence through three games (two Coastal Plains Conference matchups), Rachel tossed 16 innings, recording 28 strikeouts and giving up just three hits. Against conference rival Pamlico County (5-2, 2-2 CPC), Lang tossed a one-hitter and struck out 12 in a 5-0 shutout.

Rachel, who started her softball career as a catcher — the second piece in a sister-driven travel ball battery — is now considered by her head coach to be a second ace.

On Tuesday against Lejeune, Kelsey returned to the lineup for the first time since her injury, getting her licks at designated hitter in the middle of the batting order, one spot ahead of her sister. Once again, Rachel proved masterful on the mound, striking out eight batters in three innings of work, allowing just one hit, while Kelsey finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate with a single, double and two walks.

Kelsey also entered the game in the fourth inning to test out what should have been an unpracticed arm. Sporting a full hand brace, she retired six of the seven batters she faced, striking out two and walking one.

“(Kelsey) has been trying to be my coach, which is good,” Rachel said after the game. “Her being a senior, I didn’t think I’d get a lot of chances to pitch with her.”

Without missing a beat, Kelsey turned, looked at her sister and laughed, “I think it’s something that we’ll remember forever, something to share forever … Little by little, I taught you pretty much everything.”

With Kelsey working her way back, Northside’s one-two pitching punch is now arguably the most formidable at the 1-A level, one that’s sure to carry them deep into the playoffs this season.

Before walking off the field on Tuesday, Rachel said, “It’s a little sister thing, you just want to try to be like your big sister.”