Top-ranked baseball team recharges batteries with off days before looking to complete rare feat

Ranked No. 1 in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll for the second straight week, Gaston College head coach Shohn did something he's never done in his three years on the job.

"So, for the first time in Rhinos' history, I'm going to give them two days off instead of just one," Doty said of days off on Sunday and Monday. "Then we're back at it on Tuesday in preparation for Union."

Gaston College is 38-3 overall and 15-1 in Region 10 and are seeking to become the first Region 10 Division I team to complete an unbeaten road record in league play at least 10 seasons.

The Rhinos will enter the weekend trailing No. 9-ranked Florence-Darlington Tech (32-5, 12-0) by percentage points and comfortably ahead of third place Spartanburg Methodist (30-9, 12-4) after Gaston College won three of four games against Spartanburg Methodist at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park last weekend.

"We've got an awful lot to play for - and credit that to our team," Doty said. "They've put us in a position to win the league. That's the goal for us every year.
"We just need to take care of business on the road and then we know we'll have a really good team coming in here for the last series.
We've still got a lot of work to do before we get there."

The series to which Doty refers is the four-game home series against Florence-Darlington Tech on at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park; The series, which would currently match two top 10 teams in the country, will be contested in a 3 p.m. doubleheader on April 20 and a 1 p.m. doubleheader on April 21.

Gaston College enters this weekend's 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday doubleheaders at USC Union (19-14, 1-7) with a powerful offense and deep pitching staff. The Rhinos have a collective .350 batting average and score 10.3 runs per game and have a 3.30 ERA with a 8.43 strikeouts per nine innings average.

Offensively, catcher-third baseman Seth Christmas (.405 average, 7 home runs, 48 RBIs, 17 stolen bases), second baseman Andrew Muraco (.381 average, 4 home runs, 34 RBIs, 10 stolen bases), outfielder Sean Sullivan (.380 average, 1 home run, 15 RBIs, 11 stolen bases), outfielder Justin Smith (.378 average, 1 home run, 8 RBIs, 12 stolen bases), outfielder Ben Karpowicz (.368 average, 9 home runs, 52 RBIs), infielder Trevor Lucas (.357 average, 6 home runs, 37 RBIs, 14 stolen bases), outfielder Tyler Burke (.349 average, 2 home runs, 19 RBIs), shortstop Caleb Estes (.336 average, 4 home runs, 29 RBIs, 15 stolen bases), first baseman Brandon Crabtree (.337 average, 5 home runs, 37 RBIs), outfielder Trent Murchison (.331 average, 21 RBIs, 39 stolen bases) and first baseman Freddie Oliver (.330 average, 7 home runs, 32 RBIs, 24 stolen bases) are the leaders.

The pitching staff has been led by weekend starters Mason Smith (6-0 record, 2.52 ERA), Evan Vandenbosch (6-0 record, 2.79 ERA), Connor Frail (5-0 record, 3.50 ERA) and Wagner Morrissette (5-0 record, 4.00 ERA), weekend starter/closer Landon Carr (3-1 record, 4 saves, 2.00 ERA), mid-week starter/reliever Gabe Hernandez (3-0 record, 5.57 ERA) and relievers Shane Thorson (3-1 record, 4.15 ERA), J.J. DeVos (3-1 record, 1.88 ERA) and Clayton Sherwood (1-0 record, 2 saves, 4.61 ERA).