Click here for link to Universe story.
Christie Walton greets her sons, covered in mud with big smiles on their face, at the front door after they had spent hours ruining the backyard lawn.
The boys had been out playing baseball, as they did everyday, and the sprinklers had turned on. Naturally, the backyard ball came to a new level when the boys discovered the ground was much easier to slide on when wet.
The brothers created a giant mud hole in the middle of the yard. The family was hosting a wedding reception in a few days and had spent hours grooming their landscaping for the wedding.
"They just walked to the door thinking it was the best thing in the world," Christie said. "They were old enough to know better."
Kent Walton, the younger of the brothers and the Cougars' second basemen, grew up playing baseball and competing against his older brother Kyle.
"It always made me a better player to compete against each other," Kent said.
Kent was born eighteen months after Kyle.
"When I was younger he was a tag along, when I was getting older I noticed he could really play," Kyle said.
Kyle, who graduated two years before Kent, played baseball at Houston before transferring to Cal-San Bernardino.
"My best mentor was my older brother," Kent said.
The brothers fell in love with the sport at a very young age.
Christie said she used to go into Kent's room at night before she went to bed and take off the glove and bat that Kent would always fall asleep with.
"We just fell in love with baseball, it just stuck with us, we love it," Kyle said. "It's a great passion of us boys."
As Kent and Kyle grew up, their competition grew as well. The brothers were always pushing each other to be better.
Kent was determined to prove himself when he entered high school. The brothers never played on the same team in high school, but they competed with stats.
"When Kent got to high school it was his goal to break [Kyle's] records," Christie said. "He did [it]."
For the first time in their lives, the two brothers were able to play with one another during the summer. They played for Palm Springs Power in Palm Springs, Calif.
"We competed a little bit," Kent said. "It was awesome."
While they may not play on the same team ever again Kyle would have Kent on his team any day.
"He is just dang good," Kyle said. "We're always trying to push each other to make each other better."
In some instances, the competition still exists. Kent said golfing is always competitive between the two and verbal arguments typically ensue.
"I just talk back, if he does physically, I just run away," Kent said.
The early competition in Kent's life has made him a strong player.
Kent converted to infield this season and has a .946 fielding percentage. As a sophomore, he leads the team in hits, doubles and triples, while boasting a .363 batting average.
"He is a better athlete overall," Kyle said. "He is a five-tool player. He shows off his talent every game."
A five-tool player is a term used for a baseball player that is a complete performer. Hitting for a high batting average, for power, base running skills and speed, throwing ability and fielding abilities are qualities found in a five-tool player.
When asked about his speed compared to other Cougars, Kent chooses to stay out of the debate.
"When it comes to stealing bags Leon [Johnson] has got him, but in the sixty, it's Kent," teammate Austin Hall said.
Earlier in the season, Kent had a 16-game hitting streak, which was broken in the home opening series against Northern Colorado.
After the game, Kent stayed for 90 minutes to practice to ensure he would improve.
BYU coach Vance Law said it was the kind of work ethic that would help Kent find a future in baseball.
"I really see him playing at the professional level and going as a really high draft pick this next coming year," Kyle said.
Whether or not Kent plays professionally, his love of the game will remain with him.
"People tell me all the time they have never seen people who love the game and know the game like [Kyle and Kent] do," Christie said.
It is a love that was fostered from an early age, from broken windows, to broken noses to broken records and ruined grass, these brothers will always share a special bond and a special love for baseball.
