FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — With all of the pressure and eyes are on Arkansas softball's freshman catcher Kennedy Miller as she steps into the batter's box, it's her two walk-up songs that settle her nerves.
"I really try not to think at all," said Miller. "I'll sing my walkup song in my head. I really think that is that has helped me a lot."
That's because each song means something to her and her story.
'Welcome to the Show' by Cody Johnson is on regular rotation in her car. 'Blame it on Texas' by Mark Chesnutt brings this Georgetown native back to her Texas roots.
"It's like an old school Texas song.," said Miller. "So my dad was like, 'You need to use this and just to kind of get the crowd into it if they kind of listened to the words.' Don't leave it on me blame it on the state of Texas where I'm from."
You can't blame this Texan for what she does on the field as she leads her team and is currently second in the SEC with a .452 batting average with 26 RBIs so far on the season.
"She stays really level on the offensive side," said head coach Courtney Deifel. "You rarely see her have a bad at bat. If she does, it's it's just something to grow from and build from."
It's not just her at bats that have impressed. Miller has been equally as magnificent behind the plate.
"She dives into the plan into the prep and just as executing it at a just a really elite level," said Deifel.
With her playing in every game of her debut season, building relationships with each of the pitchers was crucial.
"Throughout the fall I really just tried to catch a lot of their bullpens as many as possible, even if it meant like I would catch three and four a day," said Miller. "Just to learn each of them."
With Miller now well into her first SEC season, this Texan has proved the show isn't too big for her.
"Just kind of wanted to see how everything went and kind of get my feet wet," said Miller. "Just trust my ability and it feels really good."
Miller and the rest of the Arkansas softball team are on the road against Georgia for a weekend series beginning Saturday at 11 a.m. on the SEC Network.