No. 2 Gaston College opens Region 10 play with home DH sweep

No. 2 Gaston College had an impressive opening to its Region 10 schedule on Sunday with a doubleheader sweep of USC Sumter at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.

The Rhinos (23-2, 2-0) won 7-2 in the opener, then took a 14-11 victory in the nightcap.

Gaston College and USC Sumter complete the four-game series on Monday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Sims Legion Park.

In the opener, the Rhinos used eight walks and four hits to generate their offense while starter and winner Mason Smith (6 innings, 9 strikeouts) improved his seasonal record to 4-0.

In the nightcap, after the visiting Fireants (12-12, 0-2) scored two runs in the top of the first inning, Ben Karpowicz's two-run home run gave Gaston College the lead for good in a three run first inning. The Rhinos took control of the game with an eight-run second inning but later struggled to close out USC Sumter as they yielded nine hits, four walks, four hit batters and committed three errors.

"It was uncharacteristic of what we've been all year but, at the end of the day, you'd rather learn some lessons in a win that in a loss," Gaston College coach Shohn Doty said. "That was not the recipe for success and was not the kind of effort that's going to get us to where we want to be."

Mason Smith retired the first eight batters he faced in the opener and Andrew Muraco's two-run single in the first inning, Trent Murchison's two-run double in the fourth and Justin Smith's solo home run in the sixth led the offense.

In the nightcap, the Rhinos used five pitchers with reliever J.J. DeVos (1 1/3 innings) getting credit for the win and Clayton Sherwood getting the final out with a runner aboard in the top of the seventh inning for the save.

Caleb Estes (3 hits, double), Tyler Burke (2 hits, home run, 3 RBIs), Seth Christmas (2 hits, 1 RBI) and Justin Smith (2 hits, double) led the Gaston College offense.

Monday's games will close what has been a 20-game homestand for the Rhinos; Gaston College is 17-1 so far on the homestand and is 22-2 overall at home this season.

"As bad as it was in the second game, we still have a chance to sweep a series," Doty said of Monday's chore.