Coach of the Year and All-Region Honors for Players
Gaston College's historic first-year baseball program continues to earn accolades this week. The Region 10 DII award announcements on Thursday came just two days after the team was featured in The New York Times and hung their first championship banner at Sims Park.
Head coach Shohn Doty was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 DII coach of the year in voting by league coaches. Doty guided the team to a 41-9 overall record, a 30-6 West Division regional title and the school's first national rankings in any sport. The team finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA Division II poll and No. 5 in the PBR Juco and thejbb.net polls.
"Coach Doty has given his heart and soul to developing a premier JUCO baseball program here," said Dr. John Hauser, Gaston College president." This award is a testament to his dedication and commitment to this program. He has led, guided, and developed this team from the ground up, and he and his staff have accomplished something few programs in the country have been able to do. Our college family is proud of the excellence that has been created in our baseball program in just one short year."
In addition to Coach of the Year, seven Rhino players were also recognized.
Durschlag was named to the All-Region 10 Team, the All-Defensive Team and the All-West First Team as an outfielder. He had a .396 batting average, 8 home runs, 45 RBIs and appeared in 45 games this season.
Riley was named to the All-Region 10 Team and the All-West First Team as an infielder. Appearing in all 50 games this season, Riley had a .382 batting average, 43 RBIs, and was ranked No. 9 nationally and No. 1 in the conference with 37 stolen bases. Riley will move on and signed to continue his baseball career at Campbell University this fall.
Baker was also named to the All-Region 10 Team and the All-West First Team as a relief pitcher. He appeared in 22 games this season, had a 6-2 record with three saves and a 1.73 ERA to go along with 53 strikeouts. Baker recently committed to play at High Point University in the fall.
Yakubinis rounds out the list of Rhinos making both the All-Region 10 Team and the All-West First Team as a designated hitter. He appeared in all 50 games and had a .341 ERA with six home runs. He was the RBI leader for Region 10 DII with 63.
Cournier, another player that appeared in all 50 games this season, was named to the Region 10 All-West Second Team as an infielder. He hit .356 with 53 RBIs this year. Cournier will continue his baseball career at Young Harris College in the fall.
Kelly was named to the All-West Second Team as an outfielder. He had a .331 ERA, 37 RBIs, and was ranked No. 4 in the conference and No. 11 in the division with 35 stolen bases.
Hughes was also named to the All-West Second Team as a pitcher. He appeared in 12 games, starting 10 of them, had an 8-1 record, a 2.17 ERA, and 92 strikeouts. Hughes also made history in March when he threw the first no-hitter in school history. He'll be joining teammate Christian Baker at High Point University in the fall.
"I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to lead such an incredible team of players, said Coach Doty. "Our guys deserve this recognition. They worked hard and helped us create something special here. I'm also humbled that my coaching counterparts in this league voted to give me the Coach of the Year award. I have to thank my assistant coaches for everything they did this season, too. The support of Dr. Hauser and the community has helped make this year special for me and the team."
"I'm looking forward to seeing what next year holds for Rhino Baseball. We are extremely proud of Coach Doty, his staff, and his team," said Dr. Hauser.