CLEVELAND — It’s a classic tale of friends to foes for Walsh Jesuit High School seniors McKayla McGee and Caleigh Shaulis. The softball players, both on and off the field, are known as the dynamic duo.

What You Need To Know

  • Walsh Jesuit High School softball players, McKayla McGee and Caleigh Shaulis are best friends 

  • McGee is a pitcher, and Shaulis is a catcher

  • Next year, the pair will be rivals. McGee is committed to play at Akron and Shaulis committed to Kent State

McGee pitches, and Shaulis catches.

“Its almost like we’re kind of like synced in together,” Shaulis said.

They’ve played softball together since they were kids and then all through high school together at Walsh Jesuit.

“Softball can be really tough, and us always being there for each other has really grown us in softball, but it correlates right back to our friendship that we’re always there for each other and know that we can trust each other,” McGee said.

Shaulis’s dad, Casey, has coached the girls for years.

“Its probably one of the best times of my life watching them grow up,” he said.

He expressed that their friendship off the field makes them better together on the field.

“It makes a huge difference in how they communicate," he said. "There’s nobody that knows McKayla better as a pitcher than Caleigh does."

In just a few months, the pair will no longer be teammates. They will become rivals. McGee is committed to Akron to play softball. Just 20 minutes away, Shaulis will be playing for Kent State’s team.

“Even though we’re in close quarters, its gonna seem like we’re very far away,” Shaulis said.

The girls both said they will miss taking the field together but are also excited to play one another.

“It’s definitely going to be really fun playing against each other. When she’s catching and I’m hitting and she’s calling the pitches and she knows what I’m bad at hitting at,” McGee said.

Coach Shaulis said he doesn’t know how the girls will handle no longer being teammates, but he’s proud of how far they’ve come as both players and people.

“I am sure gonna enjoy watching them because that’s what we’ve worked so hard for, is for them to play at the next level,” he said.

The duo both said they wouldn’t have made it this far in life or in softball if it wasn’t for one another.

“She definitely drives me to be a better person and softball player,” Shaulis said.