Looking downs at a skinny, baby-faced newcomer to the varsity squad, then-Natchez High head coach Sue Johnson had a good feeling about this eighth-grader.

So she threw her in the fire headfirst. Mable Green hadn’t spent a day on the high school campus, but she got out there and played third base during the 1999 season. It may have sounded like a bold move at the time, but Johnson had that gut feeling about the speedy, strong-armed Green.

&uot;That was one of those players that you knew was special from the beginning,&uot; said Johnson, now an assistant at Murrah. &uot;She came out there with hard work and dedication to start with. She always hustled. She was always at practice. It just seemed like she was one of those players who most of the time kept everybody going. She always gave 110 percent. She had one of the best attitudes I ever had.&uot;

Green stayed that way until completing her senior season with the Lady Bulldogs in fast-pitch softball this spring, and it was her efforts in both slow-pitch and fast-pitch softball that earned her the honor of 2004 All-Metro Player of the Year.

Perhaps the fastest softball player in the Miss-Lou, Green was steady at the leadoff spot and a stalwart on defense at shortstop &045; just as Johnson envisioned some five years ago.

&uot;I was very nervous, but I didn’t let that get to me,&uot; Green said. &uot;I just had to play the position. As the game came along, I came along with it. I got better. It didn’t take too long (to adjust). It’s just like playing shortstop, even though the ball comes faster at third base than shortstop. Shortstop you have a chance to think about it, but at third base you don’t.&uot;

Green was one of six seniors on the Lady Bulldogs’ fast-pitch team in the spring and one of seven in slow pitch in the fall. She played the same role on both rosters, hitting a home run in her final plate appearance in a loss to Vicksburg April 6.

Green hit over .500 in slow-pitch and .410 in fast-pitch.

&uot;She’s a fighter,&uot; Natchez High head coach Leigh Anne Mason said. &uot;She never gives up ever. She’s very quiet and almost humble &045; ‘Yes ma’am, no ma’am, whatever you want me to do.’ Even a couple of times when we got in pitching trouble, she was our No. 3 pitcher. She’s get up there and try it.&uot;

Green finished her high school career as a standout in both softball and basketball, serving as one of the Lady Bulldogs’ best defenders and point guard. She used the same quickness on the hardwood as on the diamond, and that paid dividends in each sport.

Once she completed her senior season, she had matured into the player Johnson and others had envisioned five years earlier.

&uot;She came in, and she was pretty much a ball player for an eighth-grader,&uot; Johnson said. &uot;She still had a little silliness of an eighth-grader, but as far as ball-playing skills, they were already developed and got better and better. I played her anywhere &045; catcher, shortstop, second base. A lot of times wherever we were having problems at, I’d switch her to that spot until everybody calmed down. &uot;

The senior played a big part in the Lady Bulldogs’ division championship in the fall and the team’s first playoff win her junior season under Johnson. Last fall the Lady Bulldogs lost their opening-round series to a tough Moss Point squad, but as a junior Green helped the team dispose of Long Beach for its first playoff series win in school history.

&uot;Very tough to take,&uot; Green said of the loss to Moss Point. &uot;We kind of fell apart, and we weren’t hitting like we should have. That (win) was very exciting. We had finally gotten past that first round. (Johnson) was happy. She knew we could do it.&uot;

She has no immediate plans on the table for college softball, but Green said she has every intention of trying out at Co-Lin and playing either softball or basketball &045; or both. But particularly in softball, Mason said, it’s hard to contemplate anyone not taking her.

&uot;With that speed and her glove and two years (fast-pitch) experience, at least she’s not going in behind,&uot; Mason said. &uot;I think she can play with anybody. I think (her quickness) is going to be the deciding factor if she plays at the next level. In fast-pitch, that’s what it’s all about. Her speed is definitely her strong point.&uot;