ALTON • At age 8, Miranda Hudson found out the hard way that her cousin, Bryan Hudson, could throw a baseball.

Miranda, now a junior softball standout at Alton High, was playing catch with Bryan in the front yard when one of his tosses hit her square on the nose.

"It hurt, but I tried to act like it wasn't a big deal," Miranda recalled. "I kept on playing. But, I never forgot it."

Fast forward nine years and both Hudsons are excelling on the diamond.

Miranda is batting .403 and leads the Redbirds (16-6) with five home runs and 31 RBI. She hit safely in her first 11 trips to the plate this season.

Bryan, a hard-throwing lefthanded pitcher, was chosen in the third round by the Chicago Cubs in the 2015 free-agent draft and is pitching for the South Bend Cubs on the Class A level.

The two formed a bond as children and follow each other's careers intently.

Bryan, in particular, looks after Miranda like a brother would his younger sister.

"We've been really close since we were real young," Miranda said. "We used to play catch all the time."

Miranda was inseparable at times with Bryan and his little brother, Koby. Miranda learned about baseball from the pair and her ability to hang in with the two boys made her the player she is now.

"The most important thing (Bryan) taught me is to stay humble," she said. "Just be the same person no matter how good or bad things are going on the field."

Although the cousins have a lot in common, they are polar opposites size-wise. Miranda stands 5-foot-3. Hudson, the Post-Dispatch All-Metro baseball player of the year in 2015, is 6-8.

Miranda, a Godfrey resident, grew up a Cardinals fan but quickly changed her allegiances once Bryan signed with the Cubs organization.

"I'll wear a Cubs shirt or something to school and people will look at me," Miranda said. "But they know who he is and why I'm wearing it."

Miranda is one of the leaders of a young Alton team that relies on offense to get the job done. Six different players have homered for the Redbirds, who were riding a seven-game winning streak before a Southwestern Conference loss Tuesday to Belleville East.

Alton coach Dan Carter relies heavily on Hudson's leadership skills. Hudson has played a key role in the rapid development of freshman pitcher Abby Scyoc, who sports an 11-5 mark.

Hudson has slowed somewhat after her 11-for-11 beginning, which ended with a weak ground ball back to the pitcher in a game against Wood River on March 21.

"I was mad, but when I got back to the dugout, everyone told me, 'That's OK, just start another streak,' " Hudson said.

Hudson has received plenty of help from her hard-hitting teammates. Tomi Dublo is hitting .456 with 20 RBI. Tami Wong is batting a team-high .466. Ashlyn Betz has three homers and 15 RBI

"I think we're coming along," Carter said. "There's still things we need to fix, but we're getting there."

The Redbirds are 4-4 in the rugged Southwestern Conference.

"We're meshing and we're trying hard to get better and better each game," Hudson said.