For Lawries, it’s like brother, like sister

White Sox second baseman Brett Lawrie ran up to the clubhouse in the middle of a game when he played for the Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and turned on the television.

He flipped on the 2009 Women’s College World Series championship series between Washington and Florida. His older sister, Danielle, was one out away from pitching a complete game for the Huskies.

‘‘I had to watch her final out; she’s such an inspiration,’’ Lawrie said. ‘‘There’s no one more positive and mentally tough I know than my sister, with what she’s able to do and still continues to do.’’

Now, however, Danielle expresses her passion for the game differently. She has made the transition from being an ace pitcher to being an analyst in the press box, working as a softball commentator for ESPN and the Pac-12 Network.

‘‘She’s done a great job of putting herself in a great position,’’ Lawrie said. ‘‘Just being a pitcher and understanding you’re not going to have your ‘A’ stuff all the time — even though she did all the time — she’s her own biggest critic.’’

Danielle led Washington to three Women’s College World Series, earned two national player-of-the-year awards and guided the Huskies to the WCWS title in 2009. She ranks fourth in NCAA history in strikeouts (1,860) and perfect games (four) and sixth in victories (136).

‘‘It’s pretty crazy,’’ Lawrie said. ‘‘My sister was able to go out there and throw a perfect game at any given opportunity. She’s my biggest role model.’’

While growing up in Canada, the Lawries competed against each other in every sport — and even household chores.

‘‘It’s really all we were taught by our family,’’ Danielle said. ‘‘It better prepared us for what our lives were going to [hold] — both competitively with sports and in our careers now.’’

Danielle and Brett played for Canada in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

‘‘It was such a rewarding time for our family for literally playing a sport,’’ Danielle said. ‘‘Even up to now, it’s rewarding being in the positions we’re in because of our love for the game.’’

Despite their schedules, the Lawries maintain a close relationship.

‘‘We like to keep each other in the loop,’’ Danielle said. ‘‘More so me trying to reach out to him because I know he’s got a lot of action going on. I’ll tell him, ‘Hey, I got this gig, and it’ll be on at this time.’

‘‘He gets excited when I tell him that. I know he really is a proud brother.’’

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Email: jtolentino@suntimes.com