AOTM: Dial Sets the Tone on the Field and in the Classroom

PEMBROKE — Moira Dial is a .400 hitter for the Purnell Swett High School softball team. Move the decimal point to the right and you get Dial’s GPA.

Whether she’s at the plate or in the classroom, Dial is determined to perform at the highest level. Just ask her softball coach, James Graves, who sees it every day.

“You can see it on her face,” Graves said of Dial, a three-year starter at third base for the Lady Rams. “She wants to be successful and she gives everything she’s got - whether it’s academically or athletically. She does not accept a poor performance.”

Dial’s prowess on the ball field and high performance in the classroom earned the Swett senior The Robesonian/Mountaire Farms Scholar Athlete of the Month honor for April.

The AOTM program’s mission is to highlight male and female senior student-athletes within Robeson County who carry a 3.0 GPA or higher. Nominees need to also be recognized by their coaches for outstanding sportsmanship and perform with superior ability in athletic competition.

“Being a student-athlete is a challenge,” Dial said. “It’s very challenging juggling studying for tests, practice and ballgames. But you got to be persistent.”

And consistent, which Dial has been nothing short of during Swett’s banner softball season. Friday, the Lady Rams put an exclamation point on the school’s first Southeastern Conference championship in any sport since 1998 with a 10-5 victory over chief rival Lumberton.

“We already won conference, that was one of our goals,” Dial said. “I will be disappointed if we don’t finish past at least the third round at state.”

Dial has racked up 23 hits, including two home runs, and 23 RBI during Swett’s regular season run to a 16-5 overall record and 9-1 SEC mark.

Moreover, she provides vital intangibles that don’t show up in the scorebook.

“Leadership, that’s the biggest thing,” Graves said. “She talks to the players and gets on to them from time to time if necessary. We got a bunch of seniors that are just good kids and work hard and she’s one of them.”

All-the-while, Dial, a member of the student government, National Honor Society and Beta Club, keeps high marks inside the Swett High hallways. She also makes routine trips to Pembroke Middle School with fellow students as part of the Breakfast Buddies mentoring program.

“We tutor kids and eat breakfast with them and ask them how their week was and they talk to us about any problems that their having,” Dial said.

Whether she’s with her teammates or elementary students, Dial said she tries to give off “positive motivation and encouragement.”

The Swett senior is planning to attend Methodist University in Fayetteville in the fall and play on the women’s softball team.