It was early 2025 when Sis Bates first heard her mom was having terrible stomach pains.
Still, she didn't quite realize the extent of what was going on. Her mother, Michelle, likely didn't want to worry her daughter, the star shortstop, as she was embarking on the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
"She always protects me," Bates said in a recent interview. "She was like in total mother mode, so I didn't know what was going on."
But there was something serious happening.
The pain got bad enough that Michelle sought out a doctor, went in for scans and found out she had tumors. It was ovarian cancer. Stage 4.
Bates raced back home to Ceres, Calif., as soon as she could. The cancer had spread a little too much for surgery, so Michelle did rounds of chemotherapy. She's "crushed it," Sis says. And that's in no small part to Sis -- who's been there as much as possible to help with her care. Although it's under circumstances nobody could ever want, she's been able to get closer to her mom over the last year and a half.
"We have been best friends since I was a munchkin," Bates said. "I wear 22 because of her, so I simply couldn't imagine being anywhere else than being home with her right now. I feel really grateful that all the love she's poured into me for the last 28 years, I'm like being able to reciprocate that to her in a way."
And, of course, softball -- a sport that's bonded them their whole life -- has been a life raft for the daughter and mother during the difficult journey.
Michelle played that and every sport growing up, including with and against boys. "She's so cool," her daughter glows.
That's where Sis (her actual first name is Nicole) got her nickname.
"Yes, originally she was sis," Bates told me. "When she was little, that was her thing. And then I grew up with boys. Like all of our neighborhood, there was a bunch of boys, and I was the only girl. So, I played baseball with the boys. My first tee-ball team was a baseball team, and so sis was like little sister, and that kind of stuck. But with our family, she was sis, and my uncle called her sis and me sissy. I finally graduated from sissy. Thank you, Lord."
Bates has also gotten in shape for the 2026 AUSL campaign, either indirectly or directly, from being at home with her mom.
The infielder has eaten better simply because her mom has been trying to eat as healthy as possible. Something that should help her during the softball season grind.
"I completely changed my own diet," Bates said. "Like all Whole Foods and no more processed foods. So, making everything from scratch. I feel the best that I've ever felt. And I've had a couple of lifestyle changes that would have never happened if we weren't in this situation."
Bates' mom has even helped the human highlight reel train for 2026, creating fun videos and moments she maybe never would have had.
"On her good days, we'll go and she'll throw me front toss and hit me ground balls," Bates said. "She's so funny. She'll, like, hit it as hard as she can. And then she gets in a rhythm, and she's, like, not even looking. So I'll still be throwing a ball and a ball is coming at me. I'm like, 'Girl, you have to look.' She's like, 'Sorry, babe, I got in my rhythm.'"
Both Sis and her mom see the sport of softball and the softball field as a place where they can escape to. A haven from the chaos of the disease and treatments and scans.
Bates is playing for the Portland Cascade this season, a city close to her alma mater the University of Washington. It's also somewhat close to where her family is in California. If her mom is feeling OK one weekend, she can get up there for a game. If not, with the incredible growth of the sport and various broadcast deals, she can watch and cheer on her daughter from the comfort of her couch.
"[Softball] gives me a release to go train and to work towards something so that when I show up with the team, I'm ready to go," the 28-year-old said. "Then I'm my best version of myself for them and for [my mom]. I hope it gives her something to look forward to."
Sis says the determination and competitiveness she has on the diamond -- traits that have gotten her to the heights of the professional softball world -- were passed down from her mom. And so is her overflowing positivity. They're both using all of that to fend off one of the toughest opponents they'll face -- one they know they'll defeat.
"I get my positivity and happiness from her," Bates said. "And she is a fighter, she is the most stubborn woman ever. I'm her mini-me. She's gonna beat it. She's gonna do it."