NATCHEZ — McKenzie Milligan joined former Cathedral Green Wave standout Ginny Daggett as the only Cathedral softball player under Gary Blackwell’s six years as head coach to earn an invitation to the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star Game.

The game will be played on June 7, and despite being told by her father that she made the squad, Milligan was certain the game would be played without her.

“My dad told me, and he was grinning so I thought he was trying to play a joke on me,” Milligan said.

Reality set in when she talked to Blackwell, who assured her that she was indeed going to participate in the game. It was Blackwell who pushed for Milligan to get the invite in the first place.

When Blackwell heard Sebastopol High School head coach Wayne Wilson was going to coach the team, he gave Wilson a call. Blackwell and Wilson knew each other’s teams well, as they played against each other three of the last four seasons. So when Blackwell told Wilson about the ground Milligan’s covered at shortstop in 2014, Wilson listened intently.

“He watched her through the years, so he knew what she could do,” Blackwell said. “He needed a shortstop, so when I told him that’s where she played this season, he said, ‘that’s great, I’ve been looking for a shortstop.’”

To go along with Milligan’s sound defensive skills, the junior grew into one of Cathedral’s main offensive producers in 2014. As a slapper, Milligan led the team with a .420 batting average and was tied for first in on-base percentage with a .520 average.

Even with Milligan’s offensive and defensive success, 2014 turned out to be a challenging year for her, because she was forced to escape her comfort zone. With a team comprised of more eighth graders and ninth graders than juniors and seniors, Blackwell challenged his juniors and seniors to step up.

Accustomed to being the youngest on the team, Milligan said she was used to players telling her what to do, instead of her having to be the vocal leader.

Though it took time, she grew into her role as one of the team’s veterans.

“At the beginning of the year we struggled, because nobody knew anybody,” Milligan said. “Magically one day we all bonded, and everybody just started playing together. Every time we had an error we had to run, so it made everybody work together in the end.”

Milligan was still far from outspoken.

“She shows it on the field,” Blackwell said. “She’s one of those athletes that’s leadership is her play on the field. The others see her and react to it.”

Instead of becoming the soundtrack to the team’s beat, Milligan decided to lead with her rhythm on the field. The beat goes on in June.