Eustace shortstop McGeehan is on track for her dream

Macie McGeehan is a softball player with a dream and the wherewithal to make it come true.

McGeehan, Bishop Eustace's star shortstop, envisions herself as a physical therapist and a coach, and she is on a path to become both.

The four-year starter at short won a scholarship to play softball at Towson, where she plans to study exercise science with a goal of getting a doctorate in physical therapy.

The plan is to coach softball after graduation.

"I fell in love with the school and the players," McGeehan said of Towson, adding that she received offers from five other Division I schools. "It was a good fit."

McGeehan signed a letter of intent in November, and about three weeks ago, she said, the news got better. She was accepted into the honors college at Towson, a community that comprises less than 10 percent of the incoming freshmen. Applicants are admitted if they have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.7 on a 4.0 scale and score 1,800 or greater on the SAT.

"My GPA is 4.0, and my SATs were 1,860," McGeehan said.

She wants to help injured or ill athletes rebound. And there's a deeply personal reason for that.

"At 12, I developed a tumor the size of a large lemon on my right triceps," McGeehan said. "I had it removed at 15. I have a scar eight inches long. You definitely can tell that I am missing [part of] a muscle.

"The physical therapy inspired me. It took a while to train my triceps."

The therapy worked. Her arm is strong enough to get opposing players out from anywhere in the infield, where the Eustace defense is solid.

Three other four-year seniors - catcher Kathleen DiMaggio, second baseman Devon DeBellis, and pitcher Brianna Sandone - are key players.

"She is a good shortstop," DiMaggio said about McGeehan, who is batting .550. "She and Devon have a really good double play."

Eustace placed second in the Olympic Conference National Division last season and lost to Bishop Ahr, 3-2, in a Non-Public South A quarterfinal. If McGeehan has her way, the Crusaders would win the division and go further in the playoffs.

"I love to help younger softball players based on what I have learned over the years," said McGeehan, a three-time all-conference selection. "We can go far."

Family tradition dictated which position McGeehan would play. Her father, Robert McGeehan Jr.; his father, Robert McGeehan Sr.; and her uncle, Michael Abbinanti, played shortstop in high school.

Macie McGeehan, a piano player in the school's concert band, played baseball until she was 11. She switched to softball and the New Jersey Gators travel team in anticipation of the day she might earn a scholarship to play in college.

That day has come. Next to materialize is her dream.