Mariah Green didn’t want the patches to go to waste.
So when she transferred from Morton to Griffith two years ago, Green didn’t get a new letterman’s jacket. She just added to the one she already had.
“I had so many patches that I couldn’t leave them out,” Green said. “So I just put all of them on there.”
The result is a jacket unique to Green, who has settled in nicely at Griffith.
On the field, the senior pitcher/infielder handles any one of several positions when she’s not in the circle, where she was 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA in 16 innings across seven appearances heading into a game against Greater South Shore Conference leader Illiana Christian on Monday. Green was also leading the Panthers (3-5, 3-1) with eights hits and eight RBIs while batting .421.
Griffith assistant John Sabovcik coached Green on travel teams when she was in grade school and was happy to see her arrive for her junior season.
“I remember coaching against her when she was at Morton, and I’d much rather have her on my side,” Sabovcik said. “She leads by example with her play, but she’s a vocal leader for the team too. She’s always talking after games, telling the girls that we need to play as a team and that we’re not just one individual here.”
Freshman shortstop Natalie Vianello, who is second on the team with a .429 batting average, agreed and also noted Green’s willingness to play anywhere on the field.
“She’s never scared to try a new position,” Vianello said. “She’s always confident wherever she plays.”
That confidence has been vital for Green, who has moved around the infield recently while dealing with soreness in her right arm. She started at first base and third base within the past week.
Morton freshman Mariah Green swings at a pitch during a game at Munster on Thursday, March 25, 2021.
Green said she approaches every position on the field with the same level of confidence because the alternative just wasn’t working for her.
“Over time, you just get tired of being down on yourself,” she said. “And I started to notice that when I’m down, I don’t play my best, and I want to be playing my best at all times.”
Moving around on the field has come much easier for Green than moving from Hammond to Griffith. Her early days at the new school brought out her quieter side.
“When I first came here, I didn’t really talk to anybody,” she said. “I sat at lunch by myself. Once softball came around, that’s when I started talking to more people. It was different, but everybody was nice here, and meeting all the new girls here helped me adapt real well.”
One of Green’s highlights last season was a game against Boone Grove in April. She was in the circle for the Panthers’ 4-3 victory and helped her cause by hitting the first of her two home runs that season.
Then, after earning a varsity letter at Griffith, Green added it to her Morton jacket. She credited her father, Eric, for the idea, saying he did the same thing when he transferred from Bishop Noll to East Chicago.
Green said her focus for the rest of this season is sharing the lessons about self-belief that she has had to learn during her career.
“We all have to have more confidence in ourselves and not be so hard on ourselves,” she said. “A lot of times, we’ll make one error, and then everybody’s down. It’s like, ‘No, you have to keep going. There’s still so much of the game left.’”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
