Gaston College's Hughes sets no-hit history as Rhinos hold re-opening ceremonies at Sims Legion Park

On a Saturday in which Gaston College officially re-opened Sims Legion Park, its mascot "Mo the Rhino" was introduced and president Dr. John Hauser threw out the ceremonial first pitch, the baseball team set its own history.

Right-handed pitcher Gus Hughes did the lion's share of those honors with the first no-hit performance in school history in the opener of a two-game doubleheader sweep of Region 10 Division II rival Wake Tech.

Gaston College won 9-0 in seven innings in the opener, then won 6-2 in the nightcap to improve to 25-1 this season at historic Sims Legion Park which opened in 1950.

"Having a no-hitter for the first game, it fired everybody up," said Hughes, a Charlotte 49ers transfer from Greensboro. "I was able to locate my fastball pretty good today."

Hughes improved to 4-0 on the season with a 14-strikeout, 1-walk, 1-hit batter effort in which he retired the final 17 batters he faced.

Gaston College coach Shohn Doty thought the grand re-opening ceremonies, which featured the biggest crowd of the year, helped energize his team.

"We want to thank everybody that came out today," said Doty, whose team improved its Region 10 Division II West Division-leading record to 16-1. "I thought that carried over to how Gus pitched and, really, pushed our whole team."

The Rhinos, ranked in the top eight of all three National Junior College Athletic Association polls, were incredibly efficient on offense in their sweep.

In the opener, Gaston College turned five hits, seven walks and three fielding errors into nine runs. Rhinos' offensive leaders were Hayden Brandon (two-run home run), Miller St. John (double, two RBIs), J.D. Yakubinis (one hit, two RBIs) and Pierson Gunnell (double).

In the second game, the Rhinos turned six hits, six walks and one hit batter into six runs. Offensive leaders were Konni Durschlag (two hits, home run, RBI), Gunnell (RBI single), Wade Kelly (two-run single) and St. John (two-run single).

Starter J.D. Everett improved to 6-0 with 10 strikeouts and no walks in six innings before reliever Christian Baker closed out the win by striking out two of the three batters he faced.

"The offense was very opportunistic today," said Doty, whose team committed no fielding errors in the two games. "I don't know that we swung it great but we took advantage of our opportunities and pitching and defense were the story of the day."

Gaston College stays at home on Sunday for a noon game against Wake Tech to wrap up the three-game series.