Gaston College softball stays alive in Region 10 tournament

Gaston College's softball team went unbeaten in postseason play until it reached the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series in first official season a year ago.

After splitting games in the second day of the 2024 Region 10 tournament on Friday at Patriot Park in Sumter, S.C., the Rhinos will have to carve a different path to the World Series this season.

Gaston College lost 9-4 to Florence-Darlington Tech in the winner's bracket final of the double-elimination tournament, then the Rhinos stayed alive later Friday afternoon with a 5-4 win over Monroe, N.Y.

"We didn't play well, we didn't pitch well and we just struggled compared to how we normally play," Gaston College coach Mike Steuerwald said. "But like I told our group, the best part is that we get to play again tomorrow."

The Rhinos (49-8) will face tournament unbeaten Florence-Darlington Tech (31-12) at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. A Gaston College win would force a "winner take all" 1:30 p.m. Region 10 championship game.

"Obviously, it's a tall task for us," said Steuerwald, whose team is 2-3 against Florence-Darlington Tech so far this season. "FloDar has been a tough matchup for us all year long.
"We don't have to win two games at 11 o'clock. We have to win one game at 11 o'clock and then play again after that."

In the 9-4 loss, the Stingers took leads of 5-0 and 7-2 before the Rhinos closed within 5-2 and 7-4 after four and six innings, respectively. But Florence-Darlington kept Gaston College off the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Gabrielle Porterfield (2 hits), Grace Manning (double, RBI) and Logan Lilly (single, 2 RBIs) led the Rhinos' seven-hit offense.

In the second game, Abigail Gawlinski threw an eight-hitter with four strikeouts and survived a late rally by the Mustangs (25-28), who scored three times in the sixth inning and once in the seventh after Gaston College had taken a 5-0 lead with a five-run second inning.

Porterfield (2 hits, double, triple, 3 RBIs) and Alayna Patrick (2-run home run) led the Rhinos' eight-hit offense.

Here's the Region 10 tournament results and schedule:

(Thursday, May 2)
Game 1 - No. 3 Monroe, N.Y. vs. No. 5 USC Union - USC Union 6-4
Game 2 - No. 4 Spartanburg Methodist vs. No. 6 USC Sumter - Spartanburg Methodist 8-0
Game 3 - No. 1 Gaston College vs. USC Union - Gaston 4-1
Game 4 - No. 2 Florence-Darlington Tech vs. Spartanburg Methodist - Florence-Darlington 4-3 in 8 innings
(Friday, May 3)
Game 5 - Monroe, N.Y. vs. USC Sumter - Monroe 3-0
Game 6 - USC Union vs. Spartanburg Methodist - Spartanburg Methodist 8-6
Game 7 - Gaston College vs. Florence-Darlington Tech - Florence-Darlington 9-4
Game 8 - Monroe, N.Y. vs. USC Union - Monroe 2-1
Game 9 - Gaston College vs. Monroe, N.Y. - Gaston 5-4
(Saturday, May 4)
Game 10 - Florence-Darlington Tech vs. Gaston College, 11 a.m.
Game 11 (if necessary) - If Game 9 winner wins Game 10, 1:30 p.m.