BY KEN MORSE
CITIZEN’S NEWS
Inspiration for an athlete takes on many forms and comes from a variety of different sources, but there is one fact that remains the same. Inspiration can and will turn an ordinary player into an extraordinary athlete.
A case in point is Ivy Geloso, who was named GNAC Softball Player of the Year as a senior at Albertus Magnus College.
For the former All-NVL player from Woodland, her inspiration was her late dad Harry. Ivy never played a game that her dad did not attend. In her junior year of college, that changed.
“He started missing games due to a sore back,” said Geloso. “That was the first time he ever missed one of my games since I was in eighth grade. Then he would tell me he couldn’t make the away games because he couldn’t sit in the car that long with his back like that.”
Then on May 27, when my junior year had just ended, my dad passed away from cancer. He was diagnosed on April 27 and he died a month later. He was literally my best friend. He was so ecstatic when I was named second team All-GNAC in my junior year.”
Geloso continued: “Without him being here this year I didn’t even want to play, but the plan was that I would continue to play with my extra year of eligibility and get my master’s next year so I wanted to do what he would have wanted me to do. And that was my inspiration for this season.”
Geloso came out of Woodland and spent one season at Southern Connecticut State University. She played in 30 games with 19 starts and batted .240 with 11 hits in 50 at bats. The following year she transferred to Albertus Magnus.
“I was out of my comfort zone and wasn’t having any fun,” said Geloso. “In fact, I was miserable. I have always been a hitter and the coach wanted me to become a slap hitter. On my summer travel team I had three teammates who played for Albertus and that’s how I ended up here and it’s the best decision I ever made.”
After two seasons and with the pandemic cutting short a season, Geloso’s career-highs were 19 hits, nine runs scored and eight RBI. Then came her senior season and things exploded. A 12-game hitting streak, 19 multiple-hits games, 58 total hits, 4 triples, 4 home runs, 39 RBI and 37 runs scored while batting a league-best .496.
For her efforts, Geloso was named Albertus Magnus Player of the Year, Greater Northeast Athletic Conference Player of the Year, first team All-Conference and NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) Division III All-Region first team. She was the designated player most times, but she didn’t make an error in the 26 chances she had over the past two seasons.
“I will be coming back for that extra year of eligibility next season when I go for my master’s degree,” said Geloso, who is studying sports management. “I certainly didn’t expect to do as well as I did this year. I thought I would be miserable without my dad being at my games. “It was the worst thing ever, but the way I handled it, he definitely was watching over me. I just felt a peace about it. And that is not usually how I am. Usually I’m in my own head and my dad would calm me down.
“My older brother Greg and my mom Betsy came to my games so that really helped me to have their support. It was a crazy ride this season and I’m looking forward to doing it one more time next season.”
