MT. OLIVE — A historic season came to an end Friday night at the hands of North Duplin sophomore Rylee Pate, one of North Carolina’s top high school pitchers. With their backs against the wall, the top-seeded Northside Panthers battled for all seven innings against No. 11-seeded Rebels in Game 2 of the NCHSAA 1-A state softball tournament in a textbook pitchers’ duel, but one well-timed swing from an unlikely source was all the home team needed to lock up a spot in the title game.

Freshman Courtney Brock stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh in a scoreless ballgame against Northside sophomore Rachel Lang, who had pitched six innings of near perfect softball, allowing just two hits and two walks, recording seven strikeouts. After taking the first pitch, Brock connected with a low and inside fastball and sent a towering home run over the fence in left-center, stunning the 400-plus fans in attendance and sending the Rebels to the state championship.

“Two great teams on both sides of fence and you can’t ask for any better,” said head coach Riley Youmans. “It’s a tough way to lose a ballgame, but you know what, that’s how a lot of these ballgames are won and lost, by walk-off home runs … We had all the opportunities in the world, we just couldn’t get it done. I’m very proud of my girls, very proud of the other team.”

Having allowed just one run in the last eight games, Pate continued to baffle the Northside batters in Game 2, giving up four hits and striking out 13, bringing her season total to 168.

After addressing what’s been a lackluster offense of late in Thursday’s practice, Youmans decided to shuffle the customary lineup in hopes of providing a spark at the top of the order. And for the first time in 13 innings, the Panthers pieced together two hits in an inning of Pate — a leadoff double to left field from senior Kelsey Lang and a bunt single from Whitney Cromwell in the top of the seventh. Rachel Lang followed her sister’s double with a walk and courtesy runner Ashley Paszt worked her way to second. Pate fanned junior Mackensi Swain on a full count and Cromwell’s bunt single loaded the bases with one out.

Pate then induced a pop fly from Tiffany Oliver and struck out Mariah Stanley to end the frame, preserving the shutout and setting up Brock to send North Duplin to the championship.

“I thought we were going to score on that opportunity and we just didn’t get it done,” Youmans said after the game. “Like I said before, I have to give it to the (Pate). She’s just an outstanding pitcher and we just couldn’t get the bat on the ball.”

Northside’s lone offensive production came in the form of a second inning single from Kendall Alligood, a single in the fifth from Rachel Lang and the hit from Rachel Lang and Cromwell in the seventh. The Rebels had just two hits leading up to the walk-off home run, a single from Mikayla Koch in the fifth and a single from Haley Brogden in the sixth.

“It was just absolutely a pitcher’s duel, just unbelievable,” Youmans said. “They couldn’t hit us and we couldn’t hit them. Eventually, someone is going to get a hold of one and that’s what happened.”

With the loss, Northside finishes the season 24-2 (12-0 Coastal Plains), as North Duplin advances to the 1-A state championship to face the winner of Lincoln Charter (23-3) and Hiwassee Dam (23-3) in the western regional final.

Northside will graduate four freshman this June — Alex Adams, Kelsey Lang, Taonya Stanley and Ashley Paszt.

“Those girls need to hold their chins up high and they have a lot to be proud of. I know how they feel, I’ve been there,” Youmans said. “They’re just all great leaders and it’s going to be hard to replace them.”