Gaston College softball back in World Series for third time in four years

In just four seasons, Gaston College's softball team has gained national acclaim.

That'll continue next week when the Rhinos make their third National Junior College Athletic Association World Series appearance.

As the only head coach in school history, Michael Steuerwald is certainly happy with such an accomplishment but is most proud that the Rhinos have in essence advanced in three different ways to the sport's biggest stage.

In 2023, the school's first official season as a Region 10 competitor, Gaston College was a plucky underdog that used the talents of All-American pitcher Brantleigh Parrott to a surprising appearance that ended with a 43-10 overall record after losing two straight contests in the World Series.

Last year, the Rhinos had one of the best offenses in the country - .414 batting average with 288 extra base hits - to a 63-5 record and fourth-place finish in the national tournament.

This season, with only seven returning players but a talented crop of newcomers, Gaston College is 60-4 overall, riding a 23-game winning streak that is second-longest in school history and entering the World Series with loads of confidence.

"I think it's pretty special to be able to do it back-to-back because, at the junior college level, you're a much different team year-to-year," Steuerwald said. "It's been a different look as we're more pitching-dominant this year than last but we've still found ways to generate runs."

Veterans like Mary Hinson (.448 average, one home run, 54 RBIs), McKenna Jones (.367 average, five home runs, 41 RBIs), Katelyn Brandon (.362 average, 13 home runs, 70 RBIs) and Savanna Mullins (.356 average, three home runs, 49 RBIs) and newcomers Alexa Bianchi-Rossi (.381 average, two home runs, 47 RBIs), Adah Bruining (.377 average, nine home runs, 50 RBIs), Mallie Courson (.358 average, 16 RBIs) and Jalyn Kopp (.351 average, 20 RBIs) lead the offense.

And freshmen Aidan Ledbetter (23-1 record, 2 saves, 0.92 ERA) and Sophia Crist (18-2 record, 2 saves, 1.57 ERA) lead a pitching staff that has thrown 24 shutouts with a 1.52 team ERA and yielded only a .197 opposing batting average.

"This means the world," Hinson said. "It takes a lot of skill to get here and we've worked really hard."

Crist, who graduated high school early in order to join the team in January, has emerged as part of the devastating 1-2 freshman pitching punch. Crist threw a three-hitter with four strikeouts in five innings in a 9-1 victory over host Georgia Highlands to wrap up a two-game sweep of the Mid-Atlantic District tournament last weekn.

"We played a really good game as a team," Crist said. "We were all excited because we knew the victory meant we were going to the World Series."

Ledbetter, who was named Region 10 Pitcher of the Year, said returning to the World Series was the team's goal since they began fall drills in September.

But she admits reaching that goal was quite special for her, her teammates and coaching staff.

"It's kind of surreal," Ledbetter said. "Obviously at this point of the season, we're taking every game like any other game but we know it's more and you feel a real sense of accomplishment."