Once a late recruit, Porterfield has become record-setting hitter for Gaston College

Gaston College's softball program is one of the fastest-developing programs in the country.

When you build that fast, you need some good fortune along the way.

Sophomore outfielder Gabrielle Porterfield would be one of those cases when fate shined favorably on the program.

Not originally recruited by the Rhinos, Porterfield sought out the program and head coach Mike Steuerwald - and two years later, both coach and player couldn't be happier.

"I knew I wasn't ready to go D1 or D2 out of high school so I was just looking for some high level coaches that would help me develop and I found coach Stu and instantly tracked him down," said Porterfield, a 2022 Lexington, S.C. White Knoll High graduate.

Steuerwald was with Team USA's softball team in Japan when Porterfield contacted him so he had assistant coach Lani Ries make sure to reach out to Porterfield.

"It was a month before school started and I reached out to coach Lani and said, 'We need to get this kid on campus and let's figure how to get her in.' Obviously she was a huge get for us."

Porterfield joined a program that had competed as a club team in 2022 but was playing its first official National Junior College Athletic Association in Division I of Region 10.

And she and 12 other newcomers made the Rhinos a championship squad as they went 43-10 overall, won the Region 10 regular season and tournament titles and won the Mid-Atlantic regional to advance to World Series in Oxford, Ala.

One of four players to play all 53 games, Porterfield also was one of five all-conference performers while hitting .297 with 30 RBIs and 39 stolen bases.

This season, coaches expected Porterfield to be challenged in fall drills but she quickly established her leadership of the team as a centerfielder and leadoff batter.

"She's someone that's taken on every challenge we've given her," Steuerwald said. "This year, we thought we'd have three or four competing for the centerfield spot. But by the second week of fall, she kind of took it over."

She's also become the first player in school history with 100 career hits - she accomplished that with the first hit of the sweep of USC Union last Wednesday.

"In the last two years, there's been some struggles for me offensively," Porterfield said. "So for me to come out this year and be the start of the offense and have so many hits really means a lot."

Steuerwald considers Porterfield a difference-maker for his team.

She enters Friday's 2 p.m. doubleheader against Brunswick Community College at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park, Porterfield is hitting .440 with two home runs, 26 RBIs and 21 stolen bases.

"She's still growing as a player," Steuerwald said. "I've told her many times that if she plays like an All-American, this team is a World Series team. And she's shown that the last two or three weeks."

And while the path won't be easy - Gaston College will have to repeat as Region 10 champion and win a district title at the Region 17 champion to make a second straight World Series appearance.

"We're going to get there," Porterfield said. "We have all of the tools. We just have to bring it all together."