ALL-AREA SOFTBALL: Rebels' Pate repeats as pitcher-of-the-year

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 27, 2016 1:48 PM

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CALYPSO -- "She's got one more year?" groaned a parent.

"No, I think she's a senior," another parent replied.

"Are y'all sure? Seems to me she's been around forever so this has got to be it for her," quipped another parent.

Sorry, folks.

Rylee Pate isn't going anywhere.

The North Duplin hurler, who has baffled many a hitter with her off-speed pitches and ankle-biting fastballs, has one more season remaining inside the circle.

And don't expect her to show any mercy toward any opponent.

The blonde pony-tailed right-hander who has a smile as big and as wide as the tiny town of Faison, certainly didn't display any remorse while she rubbed that yellow sphere on her pants and then unleashed it toward the plate this spring.

Pate -- again -- set several single-season records and led the Rebels to their first regular-season Carolina 1-A Conference title in nearly three decades. They shared the crown with eventual state 1-A champion Princeton.

"We had another great run, a great ride that I was grateful to part of (and) I wish we could have gone further," said Pate, who has been selected as the 2016 News-Argus All-Area Softball Pitcher-of-the-Year for the second consecutive year.

Pate's numbers rival those of a collegiate pitcher.

She posted a 0.63 earned run average (ERA), held opposing teams to a .083 batting average and allowed just nine earned runs in 99-plus innings of work. Those are all school records in the program's fast-pitch era.

And as if that's not enough to make you take off your glasses, rub the lenses clean, put them back on and read the numbers again, how does this grab you? Pate tossed five perfect games, threw two no-hitters and just missed getting her third no-no during the eastern regional championship series.

Were those school and career records enough?

Not for Pate.

However, one goal eluded her during ND's state-title run in 2015. She came up three strikeouts shy of 200 and wanted to surpass that total this spring. Pate got Nos. 200 and 201 in the Rebels' season-ending loss to Princeton during the eastern regional championship series.

"I got that goal," laughed Pate.

But those achievements don't come without hard work, determination, dedication and trust in a group of teammates who have been the threads in the tapestry of the Rebels' success. Pate developed her rise ball during the offseason that made her even more formidable when she toed the rubber.

Catcher Mikayla Koch called the pitches.

North Duplin's defense blanked 15 opponents and surrendered just 28 total runs.

"I just focused on each pitch and I knew that I would need to work as hard as I could. (The trust) comes from playing with them for so long," said Pate, who logged a 13-4 worksheet that included 12 complete games, eight shutouts and two saves.

"We have confidence in each other. We know where we're strongest at whether it's defensively or offensively. I feel confident in myself when I'm on the mound and (confident with) my teammates behind me because I know they can get the job done.

"We're a family and I think that's what has helped us the last two years, too."

The family isn't going anywhere any time soon. North Duplin loses just two seniors.

Groan.