UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Ryan Sloniger and Braxton Giavedoni.
The Penn State catcher and outfielder have become accustomed to seeing their names side-by-side.
Sloniger and Giavedoni grew up together in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. When they were six years old, the two began playing baseball on the same team in the Coach Pitch league. Since then, they have gone through Little League, high school and even college without ever playing on different teams.
"Oh yeah [I remember playing with Giavedoni when we were six], Sloniger said. "Our dads were our coaches. We started in Coach Pitch together. Like t-ball, coach pitch, all that stuff and our dads were our coaches all the way up through.