No. 7 Gaston College sweeps Region 10 rival in 3-game series
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
USC Salkehatchie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
|
Gaston College | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | X | 11 | 7 | 0 |
No. 7 Gaston College's baseball team increased its winning streak to nine games with an impressive three-game home sweep of USC Salkehatchie on Saturday and Sunday at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.
The Rhinos improved their record to 28-2 overall and 10-2 in Region 10 with a 19-1, 5-inning victory and 11-1, 6-inning win in Saturday's doubleheader and in an 11-0, 5-inning victory in Sunday's series finale.
The three-game sweep came after Gaston College head coach Shohn Doty gave the team a day off on Wednesday following its come-from-behind 17-14, 11-inning win at Guilford Tech on Tuesday.
"I think they understand that we'd been winning but weren't necessarily playing great," Doty said. "This weekend, I thought we did what we should do offensively. We were very patient and took what they gave us. We also played good defense and the starting pitching was better."
An offense that tallied 41 runs and 24 hits was led by Nick Diehl (5 hits, home run, 7 RBIs), Caden Davidson (5 hits, double, 2 home runs, 9 RBIs), Gabe Simmons (3 hits, double, 5 RBIs), Logan Ponnett (3 doubles), Holden Cooper (2 hits, triple, 3 RBIs) and Koy Swanson (2 doubles, 5 RBIs).
On the mound, the Rhinos got wins from all three starters as well as sparkling relief efforts in two games.
Saturday's starter Cross Clayton (2 1/3 innings, 2 strikeouts) gave way to reliever Ryan Brinkley (2 2/3 innings, 4 strikeouts) before Brayen Hill threw a four-hitter with eight strikeouts in Saturday's nightcap.
On Sunday, freshman Jack Aurelius (4 innings, 6 strikeouts) made his first start with reliever Jake Casey (1 inning, 1 strikeout) closing out the shutout.
"We have good arms," Doty said. "It's up to us as a coaching staff to get guys in the right spots. So, overall, it was a great weekend."
Gaston College returns to action on Tuesday at home against Guilford Tech at 1 p.m. at Sims Legion Park before completing the first round of Region 10 action with three-game series at USC Lancaster in a 1 p.m. Saturday doubleheader and 1 p.m. Sunday single game.