MOUNT VERNON — Rarely does a player come along that has it all. They are one of a select few that have the athleticism to be a complete player. This season, one area softball player was such an athlete.

Recent Clear Fork graduate Rachel Wilson did it all for the Colts this season, and for her efforts, Wilson was selected as both the Mount Vernon News Player and Pitcher of the Year. She led the area in hitting, runs scored, stolen bases, wins, ERA and saves — and all while playing through an injury.

Clear Fork coach Jeff Gottfried was selected as the All-Area Coach of the Year after leading his team to a 28-4 mark, a share of the Ohio Cardinal Conference title and a Division II state runner-up finish.

“We challenged them at the beginning of the year,” Gottfried said. “There is a saying I learned a long time ago and it’s, ‘You don’t win with seniors in the spring.’ It holds true more often than not because there are so many distractions. ... Our seniors led the way, though. Jessica Perkins, at the very beginning of the season when we sat to make our team goals, set the team goal to get to state this year. We all looked at her funny because I am big on setting realistic goals. She said, ‘Coach, I know what you are thinking, but I think this is very obtainable. It is very realistic.’ So I told them let’s do it. From then on, that was the mentality they had. They refused to lose. In crunch time, they got it done. ... It was a wonderful ride, a great experience. Hopefully it is one I get a chance to do again, but you don’t get an opportunity very often to do it. They were a special bunch.”

Wilson was the leader at the heart of the Colts’ attack, and led her team to the Division II state tournament. She batted .491 with 50 runs scored and 40 stolen bases — all area highs — and drove in 21 runs.

“She set the tone for us just with the expectations she had of herself and the success she wanted for her teammates,” said Gottfried. “We centered around her as our strength, our main cog. ... She leads by example. She was never a real vocal kid, but she was forced into that because we didn’t have a lot of older kids. She became a very good leader, a strong competitor. I think that’s the word to use for her. She hates to lose no matter what it is.”

Her average hovered above the .500 mark for most of the season, which was especially surprising considering she batted primarily left-handed this season.

“As a freshman, she was basically hitting right-handed for us; she tried a little bit left-handed, but not a whole lot because we needed her to drive in runs,” said Gottfried. “We had her hitting third. Her sophomore year, we moved her to the top of the lineup and, she was still hitting right-handed primarily, but she was working more on the left side. Then last year rolled around and she predominantly hit left-handed, though, we did use her from both sides because she had some opportunities to drive in some runs. This year, I bet she had 10 at-bats or less right-handed. For her to keep the batting average where it was and bat left-handed was amazing. She did what was necessary for our team, and it is amazing she was able to be that successful.”

On the base paths, Wilson had the green light from Gottfried right from the start and she used that to her advantage. Her speed forced many situations and created havoc for the opposition.

“We only had one sign for Rachel and that was stop,” Gottfried said. “I never told her when to run; she knew she had free reign to do what she wanted on the base paths. That’s the way we coach. She knew we were running right away because when you put pressure on the defense, a lot of times it will cause mistakes. She really enjoyed that part of the game.”

One aspect of the game that Wilson, who is headed to Kent State University, was originally forced into was pitching. Early on, Gottfried wanted to make her a pitcher, and based upon her latter performances, she proved to be very successful.

“It was really a pick-me-up,” said Gottfried of Wilson on the mound. “We knew she had the experience and could do it for us. The other kids were doing well, but when the tougher teams came along, she was ready to go. ... The run that she had at the end of the tournament — she had a no-hitter and two one hitters — against three of the top teams in the state was great, but she would be the first one to say it was because of our defense. We made plays behind her.

“She knew what her strengths were — to change speeds, move the ball around in the zone and keep the ball off the fat part of the bat. That’s the epitome of a pitcher.”

As a pitcher, she went 16-2 with three saves, 133 strikeouts and a 1.05 ERA despite not pitching the teams first 13 games. She missed time on the mound due to a muscle problem in her hip.

“I think pitching at the end of the season, she was stronger because of (the injury),” Gottfried said. “I also think it helped from the mental standpoint, not only for her, but also for the rest of the team. They realized that we didn’t need her to win. We loved to have her pitching, but our team was good enough to win without her. She didn’t miss any innings; she was still able to do everything offensively for us and played first base. She just wasn’t able to pitch. I think it did save her a lot of wear and tear early on in the season.”

Wilson, who walked just 36 batters this season, was selected for the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association First Team, the Division II Northwest District First Team, and was named the OCC Player of the Year and a First Team selection. In addition, she was named as the Mansfield News Journal Softball Co-Pitchers of the Year, sharing honors with Lexington’s Holly Tomaszewski. Wilson also graduated with honors (4.0 GPA) and was a First Team Scholar Athlete.