No. 16 Gaston College heading back to the NJCAA World Series

Gaston College's softball team is heading back to the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series.

The No. 16-ranked Rhinos swept the best-of-three Mid-Atlantic District tournament with 9-2 and 9-1 victories over host Georgia Highlands.

It means Gaston College will head to the World Series for the third times in the four-year history of the program, this year starting May 25 at Choccoloca Park in Oxford, Ala.

"They were so locked in," Rhinos coach Michael Steuerwald said of his team. "That's the best we've looked all year."

Gaston College improved to 60-4 with its 23rd straight victory.

In the sweep, Gaston College never trailed and ended the clincher in five innings due to the "mercy" rule.

Katelyn Brandon (4 hits, 2 doubles, 1 RBI), McKenna Jones (3 hits, double, 2 RBIs), Miranda Wall (2 hits, double, home run, 4 RBIs), Adah Bruining (2 hits, double, 3 RBIs), Addison Marr (1 hit, double, 2 RBIs), Alexa Bianchi-Rossi (1 hit, 1 RBI) and Emery Skinner (1 hit, triple) led the offense.

And Aidan Ledbetter (5-hitter, 6 strikeouts) and Sophia Crist (3-hitter, 4 strikeouts) took back-to-back complete game victories.

"I'm really proud of them," Steuerwald said. "Up and down the lineup, we did an excellent job of competing and doing what we asked them to do all day.
"On the mound, Aidan did a good job out there making adjustments and Sophia followed up with another great effort."

Gaston College did so against a hot team that had upset Region 17 regular season champion Georgia Military twice in last weekend's region tournament. The host Chargers finished 33-17.

"We found a way after the regionals where we had almost a 10-day layoff to get better," Steuerwald said. "It shows a lot of maturity for the group to continue to work at a high level and stay sharp for that next opportunity."

Fundraising efforts are underway to help the team cover the estimated $30,000 cost of participating in this postseason tournament. To donate, visit gastoncollegefoundation.org/worldseries/.