LEGION BASEBALL: Pate tells his players 'thank you'

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on July 24, 2018 5:51 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

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A standard post-game speech wasn't necessary.

Adam Pate could see the looks of shock on the faces of his upset players.

That said enough to him.

So, the first-year Wayne County Post 11 coach took a different approach.

He said "thank you."

"I was very fortunate, spoiled almost with the kind of players we had and the kind of kids we had [character-wise], so I told them 'thank you' from me to them because I had a blast," Pate said. "We had a good time this summer. I felt like I was able to teach them a lot about the game as well as becoming better ballplayers. It's all about them, their development and their continued learning."

Wayne County (23-5 overall) claimed the Area I East Division regular-season for the fourth time in the past five seasons. But long-time nemesis Wilson Post 13 derailed its playoff hopes in the semifinals of the Area I East tournament.

Post 11 failed to make the division tournament finals in back-to-back years for the first time since 2009-2010.

"With the arms they have and the bats they have, they played very well," Pate said of Wilson. "Sometimes with that break between the regular season and playoffs, things can go one or two ways. We just couldn't get back into the rhythm we were in towards the summer.

"They played hard all summer and that's all they can do when you've got football workouts, summer jobs, other obligations and they still come out every day and play at a high level and play hard. What more could you ask for?"

Pate brought a passionate, energetic and aggressive mindset to the ballpark each day.

The team, no doubt, mirrored its coach.

Led by 10 collegiate signees, the group played with a pace unmatched by its rivals on the diamond. Wayne County stole a program-record 127 bases and batted .357 at the plate -- .001 percentage points higher than the 1998 team that set the program mark of .356.

Jack Casbarro emerged as the team leader in runs scored (35), hits (37), RBI (25), triples (five), extra-base hits (15), walks (23) and stolen bases (18). Aryc Chrisman swatted a team-high four home runs, while first-year Legion starter Will Uzzell was plunked on 12 occasions.

Blake Gipson was a close second in RBI (23) and stolen bases (17), and emerged as one of seven Post 11 players with two home runs.

Wayne County's pitching staff compiled a 3.12 earned run average.

Kolby Harris led the bullpen in innings pitched (21.7), while Chance Howard recorded a team-best 33 strikeouts and four wins on the bump.

"I felt like I was still a player to some extent, being a leader like a captain of the team...motivating, encouraging a lot," Pate said. "At the same time, you learn your players because everyone is different, everyone responds differently. If you know your players, you can get the best out of them...get the best out of your team.

"The passion I have, the energy that I did try to bring, I was hoping the boys could feed off of that and continue to stay confident even when things aren't going good."