Gaston College drops doubleheader to four-year school

Fielding mistakes led to too many unearned runs as Gaston College dropped a softball doubleheader to four-year school Johnson C. Smith 11-0 and 14-4 on Thursday at Gastonia's Martha Rivers Park.

The school's first-ever softball team continues to go through the growing pains of a startup program as they it nine errors in Thursday's games that led to 16 unearned runs for the visiting Golden Bulls.

"It's been the story in every game," said Rhinos coach Mike Steuerwald, whose team returns to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Spartanburg Methodist. "Every time we step on the field, I think we can win. We just have to make plays."

Gaston College had five hits in the doubleheader with McKenzie Gates picking up two, including one on a RBI single in the second game. Kaylyn Byrd, Emily Matthews and Gracie Frazeur added one hit each. And Serena Yalich scored two runs and had two walks in the nightcap.

Hard-luck pitching losers were Yalich and Raynee Redington. Yalich struck out seven in the first game and Redington 11 in the nightcap.

So far this season, Gaston College pitchers have been victimized by 26 errors that have led to 31 unearned runs in six games.

The Rhinos' 11-player roster recently has had to deal with a pair of injuries that have limited some of Steuerwald's options.

"It can be a challenge, but we're gaining valuable experience," said Steuerwald, whose team has played four of its six games against four-year schools. "It's going to help us that we're playing the type of competition that we're playing."