Nationally-ranked Gaston College completes a weekend series sweep of 3 straight shutouts

Not only did nationally-ranked Gaston College return to its winning form over the weekend, the Rhinos' pitching staff completed a run of 19 scoreless innings with a doubleheader sweep of Southwest Virginia Saturday at Sims Legion Park.

Hunter Shew and Jaren Woodcock combined on a three-hitter over seven innings as Gaston College won the opener 8-0. In game two, Marlowe Iorio picked up the win with relief help from David Sande and Christian Baker in a 5-0 victory.

Combined with Friday's 10-0 win in five innings, the Rhinos completed their first series shutout of the season.

"I don't care who we are playing, it is hard to throw 19 zeroes, which is what we did," Gaston College coach Shohn Doty said. "We won three games and did some things better. But if we are going to finish this thing the way we want, there is definitely some room for improvement."

After dropping two in a row for the first time this season with losses last Sunday and on Wednesday, the Rhinos flashed the form that vaulted them into the national rankings in Division II of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

"We were aggressive on the bases, and we played good defense," Doty said. "Our pitchers threw a lot of strikes and had command of the off-speed stuff."

Shew logged his most extensive work of the season in the opener, allowing three hits while striking out seven and walking one in six and one-third innings.

Wade Kelly paced the Rhinos at the plate, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs. He drove in runs on a double in the first, a sacrifice fly in the third, and a home run in the fourth. Ahmir Cournier, Miller St. John, and Enrique Wood also drove in runs.

In the nightcap, winning pitcher Iorio allowed three hits and struck out four in five innings on the mound. Relievers Sande and Baker retired the side in order in their one inning stints.

On offense for Gaston College, Chandler Kelly went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Cornier, Konni Durschlag, Arnav Ghuliani, and J.D. Yakubinis collected RBIs.

The Rhinos (36-4, 26-3 Region 10 West Division) host a home doubleheader Wednesday against Cleveland Community College (4 p.m. start), followed by a three-game series next weekend at Catawba Valley Community College.

"We're excited about the week ahead," Doty said. "Even though we have been really steady, we haven't gotten hot in a while. I hope it happens on Wednesday."