Gaston College splits doubleheader after another Parrott pitching gem

   On a cold, wind-swept day Tuesday at Lenoir Optimist Park, the Gaston College softball team faced an uphill battle after dropping the first game of a doubleheader against rival Caldwell Tech by a 12-6 score.

   But the Rhinos knew they had Brantleigh Parrott throwing in the circle for game two, and her presence seemed to lift the entire team.

   Gaston College looked confident on offense in the first inning, putting four runs on the scoreboard, and the team bounced back for an 8-0 victory in five innings to gain a split.

   Parrott tossed a two-hitter against the Cobras in the mercy-rule shortened game, striking out nine and walking none.

   "When we get her (Parrott) in the circle, we get relaxed to the point to where maybe we do swing the bats better knowing we don't have to get as much," Rhinos coach Michael Steuerwald said. "We were a lot closer to what we are capable of being in game two."

   Unlike the opener in which the Rhinos missed opportunities by stranding runners on the bases, they punched out 10 hits in game two and plated runs in each of the first four innings.

   Asheton Queen got the Rhinos off to an auspicious start with a triple to left field to open the game. That blow set the tone for a four-run inning that was highlighted by Grace Manning's two-RBI double.

   Queen continued her hot hitting an inning later when she sent a drive over the fence in left field for a two-run homer, making the score 6-0.
Solo runs in the third and fourth innings extended the lead to 8-0, and Parrott closed it out by blanking the Cobras in the bottom of the fifth.

   Queen (2-4, two RBIs) collected two of the Rhinos' three extra-base hits off Caldwell Tech starting pitcher Kylie Reid. Gabrielle Porterfield (2-3) and Manning (2-2, two RBIs) also had good outings.

   In the opener, Gaston College rallied twice to tie the score (2-2 in the third and 5-5 in the top of the fourth), but the Cobras broke the game open with a five-run flurry in the sixth that the Rhinos could not answer.

   "The hard part was that we were always chasing from behind and couldn't put up that zero to give ourselves a chance," Steuerwald noted. "We were climbing uphill the whole game and couldn't get the lead."

   Caldwell Tech connected for four home runs off Rhinos pitchers Amiya Tomlinson and Tessa Hunt, with Ashley Antonio going yard twice and knocking in four runs.

   Queen went 2-3 with a home run and two RBIs for the Rhinos. Parrott (2-3, RBI), Serena Yalich (two-RBI double) and Hunt (2-3) also provided offensive spark.

   With a huge Region 10 game looming this weekend, Steuerwald labeled the game two win "a good bounce-back for us heading into Saturday."

   Gaston College (23-7, 3-1 Region 10) hosts Region 10 Division I kingpin Spartanburg Methodist Saturday at noon at CaroMont Health Park.

   "We have been talking about it for three weeks," Steuerwald said of the matchup. "Spartanburg Methodist has been at the top of the region for a lot of years now. For us, it is an opportunity to see where we are at and hopefully compete at a high level."