A year after fast-pitch softball made its North Carolina High School debut in 1998, the Northside Panthers had an immediate impact in the East, setting the standard for future teams and instilling a strong softball tradition in Beaufort County that carries on today.

Supported by a powerful lineup and a pitching staff with three consistent arms, the 1999 Panthers knocked off rival Perquimans and Cherryville in what was then a double-elimination-style regional format. They met East Surry of Pilot Mountain in the 1-A state championship, only the second tournament ever held by the NCHSAA for fast-pitch softball, but the Panthers would succumb to an 8-1 defeat, failing to force a Game 2.

Following what was a strong season in 2000, again Northside, coached by a young Keith Boyd, found itself competing for a championship in 2001. A defensive-minded team centered around hurler Kristen Slade, second baseman Kim Williams and catcher Ashley Webb defeated Camden County in the state semi-finals, 2-0. In the elimination round, Northside routed North Moore, 7-2, and won a hard-fought pitchers’ duel against Camden County, 1-0, in the consolation rematch, aligning a matchup with western powerhouse Cherryville in the state final.

Entering the championship game with a 23-6 record, Northside, a team built around pitching, was accustomed to grinding out victories against quality opponents. Finding unconventional ways to manufacture runs was nothing short of routine for the Panthers, who played in one of the most competitive tables in the East, a conference that featured perennial threat Perquimans and Williamston. They were battle tested, as evidenced by a game on May 10, 2001, an 18-innings thriller against Manteo that still stands as the fourth longest game in NCHSAA history.

“I pitched all 18 innings, so did the other girl,” Slade said. “I can tell you that at the end of it, I had so much adrenaline pumping that I wasn’t tired at all. But it was crazy. There was like no hits throughout the whole game and the winning hit ended up being a routine ball that went through a girl’s legs.”

Slade had pitched nearly every inning for coach Boyd leading up to the championship game. She finished the season with an impressive 0.73 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 210 innings, walking just 19 batters.

Having already lost a game in the double-elimination tournament, the underdog Panthers needed two wins over Cherryville to cement the young program’s first state championship. And Slade would not disappoint, tossing seven innings of shutout softball in Game 1 en route to a 4-0 win.

The rubber match, however, would not go Northside’s way. At the end of seven, the game knotted at one run apiece, a couple of untimely errors cost the Panthers down the stretch in a 2-1 loss.

“We definitely should have won the second game,” Slade said. “We had a couple errors that killed us and that was it. It was bad. I guess I was more upset because I know we could have won. It wasn’t like ’99 where we got blown out and there was no way we could have won. This time was different.”

After attending college at Louisburg, where she pitched for the Hurricanes softball team, Slade became the softball coach at P.S. Jones, navigating the program to multiple conference championships through the last decade.

From 2009-2011, Slade would coach two future Panthers pitchers — sisters Rachel and Kelsey Lang. Overtime, Rachel developed a series of effective breaking balls, while Rachel’s game was built around velocity.

“Both of those girls are extremely talented and work really hard,” Slade said. “They do pitching lessons, they do hitting lessons and play all the time. On top of them being great athletes, they’re just great people. Yes ma’am, no ma’am, all the time. Just great girls.”

Now, in 2015, it’s Slade’s protégées who are sharing the pitcher’s circle for Northside in the eastern regional championship against North Duplin this week. After six combined seasons of varsity softball, Kelsey, a senior, and Rachel, a sophomore, are looking to use their complimentary pitching styles to bring the first softball state championship back to Pinetown.

Through a team-high 76 innings, Rachel owns a 0.74 ERA, just 0.01 higher than Slade’s in 2011, while Rachel boasts a 0.57 ERA and a team-high 95 strikeouts in 49 innings.

With a perfect 24-0 record entering the regional championship, Slade is hopeful that the newest edition of Panthers softball can play clean softball in the field, pitch efficiently and win the coveted 1-A title, one the 2001 team was so close to obtaining.

“It would mean a lot to the community,” Slade said. “I feel like no one gives (Northside) any credit for being good at any anything. I feel like we have good basketball now and good softball and I think we can keep doing it.”

“I’m happy for them. They have a long ways to go, but I feel like they can do it, for sure. They’re definitely talented enough to win.”

Northside will host Game 1 of the best-of-three-game series tonight and will travel to Mt. Olive on Friday for Game 2.