![Gaston College's Ahmir Cournier was one of Sunday's offensive standouts in the Rhinos' come-from-behind victory at Spartanburg Methodist. [Calvin Craig photo]](/sports/bsb/2021-22/Bsb-Ahmir_Cournier-220205.jpg?max_width=600)
Late comeback lifts Gaston College to win at perennial Region 10 power
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Gaston College | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 4 |
|
Spartanburg Methodist | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
A dramatic comeback win on the road against one of the country's top junior college baseball programs improved first-year Gaston College to a 4-0 record this season.
The Rhinos beat Spartanburg Methodist 8-7 on Sunday behind a late innings comeback.
Trailing 5-1 after five innings, Gaston College scored twice in the sixth and seventh innings and three times in the top of the ninth to take a victory over a Spartanburg Methodist program that has won more than 1,700 games and advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series nine times in the last 45 years.
"We really didn't play very well early on and made a lot of mistakes," Rhinos coach Shohn Doty said. "But we just kept playing and put together some really good at-bats there in the late innings."
Pierson Gunnell led a 10-hit offense with three hits and four RBIs, including a game-winning one-out, two-run single in the ninth.
Chandler Riley (two hits), Ahmir Cournier (two hits, one RBI), Trenton Snyder (two hits, one RBI) and Konni Durschlag (ninth-ining RBI single) were other big offensive contributors.
And Durschlag, normally an outfielder, closed out his second win of the year with a perfect ninth inning that included two strikeouts for the save.
"We've got a lot to clean up but it was a pretty good week," said Doty, whose NJCAA Region 10 Division II team opened the season last Wednesday with an 8-3 victory at No. 9-ranked NJCAA Division III Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute then swept Surry Community College with two shutouts in Saturday's home debut. "This is something we can really build on."
Reliever David Sande, the fourth of five Rhinos pitchers, got the win on Sunday with a scoreless eight inning.
Spartanburg Methodist, a Region 10 Division I team, saw its three-game winning streak come to an end to fall to 3-2.
Gaston College returns to action on Wednesday at 1 p.m. against Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute in a game that will be played at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park that is home to the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.