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Gaston College's Brantleigh Parrott was named Region 10 player of the year, pitcher of the year and an all-conference pitcher and outfielder.
Gaston College's Brantleigh Parrott was named Region 10 player of the year, pitcher of the year and an all-conference pitcher and outfielder.
Posted: May 04, 2023

Gaston College leads All-Region 10 softball team

Gaston College's transformation from first-year club softball team to official National Junior College Athletic Association power got more validation on Friday as the Rhinos dominated coaches' selections for the All-Region 10 team.

Freshman pitcher-outfielder Brantleigh Parrott led the way by being named the region's pitcher and player of the year in addition to be selection first team All-Region pitcher and outfielder.

Haylee Salter was named first team infielder, Gabrielle Porterfield first team outfielder and Serena Yalich and Asheton Queen were second team infielders.

"We're thrilled to have so many players to be chosen," Gaston College head coach Mike Steuerwald said. "And, then to have the same player get pitcher of the year and player of the year speaks to how much she produced this year."

Finally, Steuerwald was named Region 10 coach of the year.

"It's a great honor," Steuerwald said. "You don't get to be coach of the year without great players."

Gaston College won its last 15 Region 10 games to take the league's regular season title.

The Rhinos and third-place Spartanburg Methodist had six individual selections apiece (Parrott was named to two positions), with runner-up USC Union getting five selections, fourth-place Florence Darlington Tech four and fifth-place USC Sumter three.

Parrott, a 2022 Central Cabarrus High graduate, entered the ongoing Region 10 postseason tournament leading Division I in the National Junior College Athletic Association in ERA (0.34), strikeouts (244) and saves (6) as a pitcher while also leading Region 10 in pitching victories (19) and leading in RBIs (53) and is second in average (.470) as a hitter.

"As Brantleigh's coach, it was pleasing to see that the other coaches recognized that she was so deserving of both awards," Steuerwald said. "It says a lot that she set herself so far apart both in the circle and as a hitter and outfielder."

Porterfield was first in the region in stolen bases (34), Yalich was second in RBIs (47) and Queen second in stolen bases (28).

Queen (.380), Salter (.339), Yalich (.324) and Porterfield (.304) all hit better than .300 in the regular season.

"We don't get as many people honored without the success of our team so I want all of our players to feel that," Steuerwald said. "Obviously, we're very happy to have the group that was honored."