NATCHEZ — When the Cathedral Lady Wave need a spark on the diamond, they know where to turn — Abby Brown.

“She’s upbeat,” Cathedral head coach Gary Blackwell said. “She keeps everybody up with her attitude. Her attitude is always good. No matter what happens, she doesn’t get down. When everybody else sees that, it rolls over.”

But being there for her teammates on the field isn’t the only thing Brown does. She also holds down the classroom.

“Abby is just a fine kid,” Blackwell said. “Whatever you ask of her, she is going to do it, and evidently she does that in the classroom as well with a 4.2 GPA.”

Brown said that academics have always played a major role in her life, but there are sacrifices that she has had to make to keep those grades up.

“You don’t sleep much,” she said. “You have to go to practice, then go home, eat, and then you’re up all night doing work, especially junior year. Junior year is the big year at Cathedral. Like today, I went to honor society, tutored, did mock tryouts for cheerleading and then went to softball.”

But her full plate hasn’t given her too much trouble.

“It kind of keeps me going,” Brown said. “I have a schedule and just have to pace myself.”

For as long as academics have been around, so has softball for Brown.

“I’ve been playing since T-ball, when I was like four years old,” she said. “I really love the sport. I didn’t play last year, because I took a break for school, but I’m back now.”

And with her return comes versatility, something Blackwell hopes to get the most of out of the junior.

“This year she is going to be mainly in right field, but we use her at second base a lot, too,” Blackwell said. “Whatever we need, she can get it done.”

Brown said she enjoys being able to contribute to the team in any way possible.

“(Blackwell) asked me where I wanted to play, and I told him I’d play on that foul ball pole if that is where he wanted me to,” she said. “I feel comfortable anywhere on the field.”

Brown is also comfortable with her college decision, which she said she is set on.

“I’m sold on Mississippi State,” she said. “I was born a Dawg.”

Brown is hoping to study engineering in Starkville and continue to learn in her favorite subject area — math.

“I’m looking into engineering, probably military like building guns and stuff,” she said. “I like building things and math. I like to figure things out and fix things.”

As for the rest of high school, Brown still has some lofty goals.

“I’m shooting for the top of the class,” she said. “I’m kind of behind, but I’m in like the top five or six. For the team, you can ask anybody, we want to go to state.”