When Geibel Catholic's baseball team takes the field for away games, the whispers and comments begin. When visiting teams arrive at the Connellsville parochial school's field, the whispers and comments are heard.
But after an inning or two, the whispers and comments grow silent.
Observing Geibel's pre-game preparation, opposing teams focus their attention on Geibel's starting freshman catcher. Not that unusual, except that the Gators starting freshman catcher is a 5-foot-3 girl.
“When we play a team for the first time, I hear whispers and other comments about a girl being on the team,” Hannah Geary said, chuckling, “but after an inning or so — once other teams see me catch and throw — those comments stop. They still try to get in my head, but I don't pay attention.”
Geibel third-year coach Shawn Fuller, who coached Geary in fast-pitch softball for three seasons, had no second thoughts about handing the starting catcher's job to her.
“She is fundamentally sound, especially for a freshman,” Fuller said. “She knows what to do on every play and knows where plays have to be made. She knows cutoffs and is always in the game mentally, calling two outs or constantly calling to other players where plays should be made.
“As a catcher, she is good at receiving and cat-like behind the plate. She blocks the ball well and has a strong arm. She's always talking during the game, even to opposing batters. Other teams see she is a girl and they start talking … but once the game starts they know she is all business, and those comments end. She is a hustler and never does anything half speed. She definitely earned the starting job and you have to rip off her leg to get her to come out of the game.”
If Geary must leave the game, starting first baseman Dalton Elcock goes behind the plate.
While Geary, who resides in Connellsville, expected the whispers from opposing players, she did not expect the same observations from her teammates, even though she is athletic and plays volleyball and basketball and has been a mainstay with her fast-pitch travel team.
Instead of opting for softball for Geibel, Geary presented a list of reasons why baseball was her choice of spring sports. She was a student manager for the team for two seasons; her brother, Noah Geary, is a senior and she wanted to be a part of his senior season.
“And the baseball team needed a catcher,” said Geary, who is hitting .280. “At the beginning of the season I did not know what Geibel's boys might say, and I was iffy about being a girl on the baseball team. I showed up for practice and some of the boys said, ‘it's a girl.' It took several practices and a game for them to see how I reacted under pressure, then they knew they could trust me as a player.”
Knowing Geary's skills, Fuller had no reservations about her playing for the Gators, but recognized that some players had early reservations.
“Now she is just another player,” he said. “Even though they knew she played volleyball and basketball, in our first several practices they were not throwing hard to her, until she threw hard to them and they saw what she could do. In our first game, she was naturally timid at first, but once she went up against other teams, she is all baseball and obviously more confident than at beginning of the season.”
Admittedly nervous in her first varsity start, “After the first pitch I was OK,” said Geary, a right-handed batter who hits fifth or sixth in the lineup. “One pitch then it was all business, and I concentrated on the game and what I had to do. As a starting catcher as a freshman, this has been very exciting and a great opportunity, and I want everyone to treat me as just another player.”
While Geary has not yet thrown out opposing base stealers, she proudly said she tagged out a runner at home and, on another occasion, retrieved a wild pitch, turned and threw the ball to Geibel's pitcher covering home for the out.
Early in the season Geary, who this year was part of the ensemble in Geibel's musical, “Sister Act,” was tied for the team lead in hits, which, Geary laughed, prompted Fuller to admonish her teammates and “light a fire under them to improve their hitting,” she said.
Playing in Section 2-A, Geibel is 0-10, 0-8.
“We have a young team, including two kids who never played before,” Fuller said. “Until we develop some depth, we are about improving, not necessarily wins and losses.”
On an 11-player roster that includes six freshmen and two seniors, Geary sees Geibel's positive attitude and willingness to work and bond together as team strengths. She hopes to “stick with baseball if we have a program,” she said. “If not, then it will be softball. But until then I'm just focusing on baseball.”
Les Harvath is a freelance writer.
