The long and short of it? Notre Dame recruit Caroline O’Brien makes another move for Marist. ‘It’s all fun.’

Getting ready for her senior softball season has been a great new adventure for Caroline O’Brien.

As a junior, O’Brien was all-area and all-state as a catcher for Marist. But this spring, she’s answering the coaching staff’s call to replace golden gloved Maia Pietrzak at shortstop.

On the eighth day of practice, it was so far, so good. O’Brien was wearing plenty of infield dirt after making several dives for grounders. But there had been no bad-hop bloody noses.

“No, not yet,” she said, laughing. “I don’t know … we’ll see. I’m hoping there won’t be.

“I actually talked to Maia to ask her for some tips. She says, ‘We don’t fear the ball. The ball fears us.’ I like learning new things. It’s all fun. I’m really excited for what’s to come.”

As far as what has already been? O’Brien, a Notre Dame recruit, will leave behind a legacy as the softball program’s all-time “Renaissance Girl.”

As a sophomore, she was the starting center fielder as Marist finished second in the state.

As a junior, she was the starting catcher, with the RedHawks winning the Class 4A state championship. She also was named player of the year by the East Suburban Catholic Conference.

For the season, O’Brien batted .523 with 23 stolen base, 64 runs, 16 doubles, five home runs and 35 RBIs. Behind the plate, she was the perfect replacement for Wisconsin-bound Emily Bojan.

Now, O’Brien is trying to be a perfect replacement once again — and Marist coach Colleen Phelan has no doubts.

“Caroline O’Brien is probably the most overall athletic girl I have ever coached in my life,” Phelan said. “She can play every single position on the field and play it extremely well.

“I was chatting the other day with her mom. She has four kids and two of them are boys. I said, ‘She has to be your best athlete, right?’ And her brother was like, ‘Yeah, she is.’”

If Marist returns to state this season, she will be the only player in program history to make four straight appearances.

“I’ve never really thought about that,” O’Brien said. “I mean, I wouldn’t be there without the people who have been around me, the team chemistry and the leaders I’ve been able to look up to.

“It would be super cool. But that’s definitely not my highest goal.”

The adventure has taken on many roles.

During her freshman season on the varsity, O’Brien didn’t see a ton of action. She ended up with just 17 at-bats, but it was far from a waste of time.

“I don’t think I’ve ever learned as much as I did my freshman year from the bench,” O’Brien said. “I got to watch Abby Dunning work, and Kali Case, and Easton Lotus, and Emily Bojan, and even Maia (Pietrzak) and Maggie (O’Brien).

“I truly believe when you’re on the bench, you have the vision of the whole field. You can learn everything. When someone was getting coached in the outfield, I was listening. When someone was getting coached in the infield, I was listening.”

And cheering enthusiastically during games.

No one heard it more than close friend Camryn Lyons.

“Caroline is just a great teammate,” Lyons said. “She’s always everyone’s biggest fan. Never a bad attitude. Always smiling when she’s on the field.

“I’ve been with her every single summer, every single softball season for a very long time. She has one of the best mindsets in the game. She knows when it’s time to turn it on and focus, but she also knows it’s OK to have fun.”

The fun at shortstop has just begun. But Phelan is already sold.

“Caroline is a leader,” Phelan said. “You want your shortstop to be a vocal leader on the field. I feel our pitchers will truly benefit from having her being able to pick them up when they need it.

“I told her a month or two ago, ‘I’m not just giving this to you. You have to earn it.’ And she worked hard for it, taking ground balls all winter. She wants it.”

Tony Baranek is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.