Wayne County Post 11 head coach Adam Pate watches his team from the dugout during a recent game. The former Post 11 player collected his 100th win Thursday evening — a 5-3 victory over Louisburg Post 105. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
LOUISBURG — Working with a 3-2 count, Wayne County Post 11 right-hander Ayden West fired a pitch toward the plate. The batter swung … and missed.
Strike three. Game over.
Welcome to the Century Club, Adam Pate.
The Wayne County Post 11 skipper became the fifth head coach in program history to notch his 100th career victory after a 5-3 conquest of Louisburg Post 105 Thursday evening.
“It’s really cool,” Pate said. “Growing up, I had a lot of different dreams. Some of them I was able to fulfill, but injuries and other stuff make you say ‘no’ to some of those dreams. Everything works itself out the way it should.
“If I didn’t love coaching, I wouldn’t do it with much confidence. My assistant coaches feel the same way.”
Pate joins an elite company.
Doyle Whitfield notched 265 victories and his 2002 team posted a single-season, program-record 38 wins. Brad Reaves is next with 133, followed by Dee Glover (109) and Jason Sherrer (100).
Whitfield accomplished his feat in five seasons.
Pate needed just four campaigns.
“[The wins] are an attribute to what we’ve been able to do with the players,” Pate said. “We want to get the program back to where we need to be. We’ve been forced to change our program throughout the years because showcase baseball didn’t exist in the 90s. We’ve had to great creative with how we do things.
“Our kids love it. Our kids are able to have good seasons. If we don’t have good players we don’t have good seasons.”
Keeping the authentic side of baseball breathing and succeeding is Pate’s imprint on the history-rich program. Since 2019, Pate and his coaching staff have had 35 players commit to NCAA and junior college programs.
There are 16 players currently on the Post 11 roster who are either freshmen in college or have committed to a school in the future.
Pate knows from experience that baseball is an unforgiving game that can build a player’s confidence, but at the same time, teach a player to handle failure.
“People don’t always see what coaches take on, what we do,” Pate said. “We try to prepare them for adversity, teach them to handle any setback they can battle through and that means we’re doing it for the right reason.
“I want to make sure we’re accomplishing as much as possible to prepare these kids for life after baseball.”
Pate is the perfect example.
The game
Wayne County staged a seventh-inning rally to help Pate achieve his historic milestone.
Tied at 3-3, designated hitter Cameron Aycock legged out a bunt single with one out on the scoreboard. He stole second with lead-off man Lane McLean at the plate.
McLean walked.
Davis Albert moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt that rolled just beyond the batter’s box. Wyatt Lassiter followed with a two-RBI triple to left field, which pushed Wayne County ahead 5-3.
West closed the door on Louisburg Post 105 in the seventh. The rising junior at Wayne Country Day needed just 15 pitches to retire all three batters he faced.
Carter Gipson toed the rubber through four innings. He allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits, walked one batter and collected five strikeouts. Bullpen mate Cohen Waddell tossed two innings of two-hit, two-strikeout relief.
Wayne County (5-0 overall) cobbled out six hits — one each by Lassiter, Moffett, Collins, Aycock, Nate Smith and Alex Ferrell. Aycock, Moffett, Ferrell and Albert swiped two bases apiece. Collins had one steal.
Post 11 visits Wilson Post 13 today. Game time is 7 p.m. at Beddingfield High School. Pate’s club returns home Saturday for a doubleheader with Hamlet and Port City on the University of Mount Olive campus.
