Gaston College drops first contest of the season after visiting rival blows game open in late innings

The Gaston College Rhinos had met every challenge in running their unbeaten streak to 19 and vaulting into the top 10 of all three National Junior College Athletic Association Division II baseball polls.

But the Rhinos had one of those days Saturday in the first of a weekend three-game set against Region 10 Division II rival Catawba Valley
Community College.

In a game tied 2-all through six innings, the visiting Red Hawks struck for 17 runs over the last three innings to beat Gaston College 19-4 at Gastonia's Caromont Health Park.

The loss dropped the Rhinos to 19-1 overall and 12-1 in Region 10

Reece Landmark's three-run home run to left field on a blustery day in the top of the seventh snapped the tie and turned the momentum in the Red Hawks' favor.

"One swing in the seventh changed everything," Doty said of Landmark's homer. "It was a pretty good pitch at 0-2, and he gets a hit to the opposite field with the wind blowing out.
"Give CVCC credit. They're a good club and they deserved to win."

CVCC, which was No. 13 in the preseason NJCAA Division II poll, added three more in the eighth to make it 8-2 before pushing across 11 runs in the ninth.

Chandler Riley, a top hitter all season for the Rhinos, delivered a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to produce the final score. Riley was the lone Gaston College hitter with more than one hit as he finished with two hits, two RBIs and two runs scored.

Gus Hughes did a solid job as the starting pitcher for the Rhinos, giving up two runs on eight hits while striking out eight and walking one in six innings.

Three CVCC pitchers combined to limit the Rhinos' explosive offense to five hits, led by starter Chance Daquilla with five shutout innings.

"It was a really good game through six and a half innings, but everything snowballed on us," Doty said. "I told the kids two things: Whether it is 3-2 or 300-2, it's a loss and the score doesn't matter. We have to flush today. And that the only thing I am concerned about is how we respond tomorrow. It's the first loss of a conference weekend, and it's not how we wanted the streak to end. We haven't had any adversity at all, but hopefully, we have short memories."

The three-game series concludes on Sunday with a doubleheader that starts at 1 p.m. at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park.