Gaston College softball gets pairing for its first World Series appearance

Gaston College learned who it will play in its historic National Junior College Athletic Association Division I World Series appearance in Oxford, Ala., on Friday.

The NJCAA announced the Rhinos (43-8) will open their first World Series appearance on Tuesday May 23 against Florida SouthWestern (49-5). Gaston College was seeded 15th of the 16 teams in the tournament.

Coach Mike Steuerwald's Rhinos are the Region 10 and NJCAA Mid-Atlantic District champion and are in their first year of eligibility for NJCAA postseason competition after playing the 2022 season as a club team.

The top-seeded team, Odessa, Tex. (51-4), was ranked No. 1 in the final NJCAA rankings on May 1. Other ranked teams in the field are Wallace State, Ala. (2), Florida Southwestern (3), Walters State, Tenn. (4), Grayson, Tex. (5), Northwest Florida State (6), Seminole State, Okla. (10), Butler, Kansas (15) and Indian Hills, Iowa (19).

The full pairings (with seeding, district title won followed by team and record and Tuesday's opening round game time):

No. 1 Southwest A- Odessa, Tex. (51-4) vs. No. 16 Southeast- Gordon State, Ga. (23-22), 1 p.m. ET
No. 8 Plains- Butler, Kansas (45-10) vs. Rocky Mountain- No. 9 Southern Idaho (45-16), 1 p.m. ET
No. 5 South Atlantic B- Northwest Florida State (52-9) vs. West- No. 12 Eastern Arizona (44-11), 3 p.m. ET
No. 4 Appalachian- Walters State, Tenn. (52-2) vs. Mid-South A- No. 13 Angelina, Tex. (27-21), 3 p.m. ET
No. 3 South- Wallace State, Ala. (51-5) vs. Central- No. 14 Kaskaskia, Ill. (47-16), 5 p.m. ET
No. 6 Southwest B- Grayson, Tex. (46-7) vs. Mid-South B- No. 11 Bossier Parrish, La. (45-15), 5 p.m. ET
No. 7 South Central- Seminole State, Okla. (42-6) vs. Midwest- No. 10 Indian Hills, Iowa (45-8), 7 p.m. ET
No. 2 South Atlantic A- Florida SouthWestern (49-5) vs. Mid-Atlantic- No. 15 Gaston College (43-8), 7 p.m. ET