Top moments of 2025-26: No. 6 - Baseball finishes as Region 10 runner-up

No. 2-ranked Gaston College finished with the best baseball record in school history following a loss in the Region 10 championship game at Lexington County, S.C., Baseball Stadium on May 4.

The Rhinos, who finished with a 54-5 overall record, routed No. 9 Florence Darlington Tech 16-2 in the first game of what became a two-game championship before falling 8-3 in the nightcap to finish as Region 10 runner-up for a second straight season.

The Rhinos finished the Region 10 tournament with a 3-2 record, losing only to Florence Darlington Tech, and banged out 54 hits while scoring 54 runs led by Joey Nicholson (9 hits, double, 4 home runs, 14 RBIs), Nick Diehl (8 hits, 3 home runs, 10 RBIs), Caden Davidson (7 hits, double, home run, 8 RBIs), Logan Ponnett (7 hits, home run, 3 RBI), David Nicks (6 hits, double, home run, 4 RBIs), Gabe Simmons (5 hits, 2 RBIs), Koy Swanson (4 hits, double, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs) and Tyler Cook (4 hits, double, 2 RBIs).

The loss ended the careers of 25 sophomores who helped Gaston College to 95 victories and extend its streak of being ranked in each of its five seasons since the program restarted in 2022.

"We're not going to let this define us as a team," Rhinos coach Shohn Doty said of the season-ending defeat. "I think this team will go down as one of the best we've ever had here.
"But, right now, it's a tough pill to swallow and I just feel so bad for the players and so bad for the coaches."
"The bar's set high here. And we're the ones that set it. Coming off a game like that, we've got to finish it with a championship and we just weren't able to get it done."