VIDALIA — Some might call Laura Perilloux a perfectionist. Perilloux just says she’s obsessive-compulsive.

When someone has a 4.0 grade-point average and scores a 32 on the ACT, though, it’s hard to criticize them for taking their studies too seriously.

The Vidalia High School pitcher/first baseman’s academic accolades earned her a selection to the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s softball All-Academic composite team. When Vidalia High School principal Rick Brown announced the achievement over the school’s PA system, Perilloux said she couldn’t believe it.

“I was really happy and surprised, and I couldn’t wait to tell my parents,” she said.

Her father, Glen Perilloux, said he was very pleased when his daughter told him the news.

“I know how hard she works, and when you spend a lot of time on the athletic side, you have to remember that academics is the most important thing,” Glen said.

Just ask Laura, who’s goal is to make a 100 every time she takes a test or writes a paper.

“I’m kind of OCD about it,” Laura said.

That comes from a driven personality, Laura said. Whether it’s refining her skills as a softball player or trying to learn, she said she intends to carry out anything to which she sets her mind.

“I’m determined to be successful and accomplish my goals, and I’m not easily swayed from that,” Laura said.

But Laura was also quick to credit her parents for instilling that mindset in her when she was very young.

“My mom would find little things for me to go through and read when I was younger if she felt like I didn’t have anything to do,” Laura said. “I think her pushing me at a younger age helped me not get too overwhelmed later on with everything I’m involved in.”

In addition to softball, that list includes Beta Club, Key Club, student council, Positive Behavior in School Club, dance line and being vice president of the senior class. Glen said exposing her to a lot of activities at a young age got her used to being active and learning to delegate her time.

“If you work with them while they’re young, I think that carries over into college,” he said.

Laura spends a lot of time refining her skills as a pitcher, but she said she realizes everything begins and ends with how well she does academically.

“I never play so much that I let my grades suffer,” she said. “I think it’s a time management thing. Instead of wasting my time, I can practice or study.”

And it’s her careful planning that’s allowed her to study well despite being involved in so many activities.

“A lot of times it feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day,” Laura said. “I’m very careful about planning out my time and staying on task.”

Laura will continue her softball career at Centenary College of Louisiana, where she said she might major in neuroscience or pre-optometry, though she’s not positive on which one she’ll choose. Her mother is Brenda Perilloux.