Dillon’s #5 Shayna Covington was named the Region 8-2A Player of the Year. (Photo by Johnnie Daniels/THE DILLON HERALD.)
Covington had 60 hits, 53 runs, and 31 stolen bases with 15 RBI and one home run to help lead the Lady Wildcats to their first ever state softball championship title. She made 42 put outs in the field with 33 assists this season.
Also making the All-Region team were Shaquailla German, Erin Bailey, Rebecca Callahan, Tara Grimsley, and Da’Kerhia Samuel.
German had 38 hits and 39 runs with 12 doubles and four home runs at bat, and 77 put outs and 21 assists in the field. She pitched 85 innings for the Wildcats, facing 414 batters for 60 hits, 42 runs, 21 earned runs, and 65 walks. She struck out 115 batters and finished the season with a 12-3 record with one save.
Bailey had 37 hits this season with four home runs and 24 runs scored. She made 10 put outs and 12 assists in the field.
Callahan made 44 hits, including three triples and a homer, and scored 33 runs with 12 stolen bases. She made 38 put outs and 39 assists.
Grimsley had 50 hits and 41 runs for a 505 batting average. She had two home runs, three triples, and 22 doubles, and stole eight bases with two sacrifice bunts and four sacrifice flys. She made 25 put outs and seven assists in the field.
Samuel had 34 hits and 17 runs this season, including two home runs, two triples, and four doubles. She made 30 put outs and four assists in the field.
Dillon finished with a 24-6 record this season and claimed their first ever state softball title. The Wildcats will lose five seniors from their championship team, including Covington, Grimsley, Callahan, Taylor Price, and Leah McMillan.
Price had 28 hits and 12 runs for the Wildcats this season, and on the mound she faced 335 batters across 76 innings for 62 hits, 32 runs, 17 earned runs, 24 walks, and 55 outs. She finished the season with a 10-3 record. She also made a team-high 48 assists with 13 put outs in the field.
McMillan had only six hits and four runs in 19 at bats, but she made 52 put outs and eight assists in 97 innings.
Dillon will have three senior players next season, including German, Shar’Asia Samuel, and Tyieshah Jones. As a junior, Shar’Asia Samuel 23 hits and 23 runs, with three triples and 11 stolen bases, and 23 pout outs in the field. Jones had just one hit but scored six runs for the Wildcats this season.
The Wildcats also have some promising young players, including freshman Auh’Keria Smiling. Smiling had 27 hits, including a triple and seven doubles, for 11 runs and 14 stolen bases this season.
Johnna Rogers and Tori Grimsley each took a turn on the mound this season. Rogers faced 10 batters in three innings for five outs, and Grimsley faced 17 in four innings for five outs, three hits, three walks, and one earned run. Taylor Blackmon, Brittany Miller, and Adoshia Graves all had one hit for the Wildcats this season, and Rogers, Blackmon, Grimsley, and Graves each scored one run.
