No. 2 Gaston College baseball rolls to another high-scoring victory

With a four-game series against a top five nationally-ranked opponent looming this weekend, it would've been easy for Gaston College to look past its Tuesday afternoon road trip to Rockingham Community College.

The Rhinos didn't do that as they rolled to a 14-2, 5-inning road win that improved them to 44-5 overall.

It marks the 27th time Gaston College has scored in double figures this season and third game in a row.

"We've talked as a team about how we wanted to play our best baseball of the season the rest of the way and get out of that little funk we were in there for a little bit," said Rhinos head coach Shohn Doty, whose team is ranked No. 2 in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll and No. 1 in the Dream Big Athletics poll. "And we were very businesslike in our approach today and had some really good at-bats and we were good defensively and on the pitcher's mound and that's our recipe for success."

Freddie Oliver (2 hits, home run, 3 RBIs), Ben Karpowicz (2 hits, 3 RBIs), Andrew Muraco (2 hits, double, 2 RBIs), Trent Murchison (2 doubles), Brandon Crabtree (1 hit, 2 RBIs) and Ethan McNally (1 hit, 2 RBIs) led a 12-hit offensive attack.

Oliver's two-run home run in a three-run third inning gave Gaston College the lead for good at 4-2. And McNally, Karpowicz and Crabtree each had two-run singles in an eight-run fifth.

On the mound, starter Connor Frail went one inning in his first outing since March 17 and relievers Shane Thorson and Clayton Sherwood pitched two innings apiece with Thorson striking out five and Sherwood two.

"I'm happy for our team and they've been working their tails off," Doty said. "You're going to see two of the top five teams in the country this weekend."

No. 4-ranked Florence-Darlington Tech (42-6, 20-0) visits the Rhinos (17-3 in Region 10) for a weekend series that begins with Saturday's 3 p.m. doubleheader and concludes with Sunday's 1 p.m. doubleheader.