Pair of Lady Cats named All-State

Published 8:45 pm Thursday, January 28, 2016

Two Dalton High School softball players were recently recognized as being two of the best in the state. Alli Swinford and Gabby Wright, both juniors, were selected to the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association All-State first team. Swinford was selected as a pitcher and Wright as an outfielder.

Though he didn’t know how long it had been, Dalton coach Stacy Parker said this was the first time Dalton athletes had received this honor “in a long time.”

“It’s something special for sure,” Parker said. “It’s something that hasn’t been done a lot here and it’s a big deal for our girls. I’m very excited for the two that got it.”

Swinford was The Daily Citizen’s All-Area Softball Player of the Year in 2015 and was also first team All-Region in Region 7-5A. She had a 0.88 earned run average and struck out 170 batters in 173 2/3 innings on the mound.

She was also a force at the plate with a .435 batting average and four home runs while leading the team with 35 RBIs.

“Alli was only a couple votes away from being the 5A pitcher of the year,” Parker said. “She’s just a tough kid and a lot of other coaches recognized that. The ones that were at the meeting (where the team was decided) said they had heard about her so they watched her at the state tournament. There was never a question that she belonged there.”

Wright was also an All-Area and first team All-Region selection as she led the team with a .481 batting average and 30 runs scored. But what set her apart, according to Parker, was her work on the basepaths. Her 50 stolen bases were a school record and the most in Class 5A. Not only was she prolific at swiping bags, she was also efficient.

“There were other girls, but not many, who had stolen more bases than her,” Parker said. “But the other girls were also thrown out a couple times. Gabby was only thrown out once and that was a big deciding factor for her (making the team).”

Swinford and Wright were integral parts of Dalton’s success as the Lady Catamounts advanced to the final eight of the state tournament in Columbus for the first time in school history.