Unbeaten Gaston College challenged, but responds with late-inning offense to improve to 19-0

The unbeaten Gaston College received a challenge on Wednesday against perennial junior college baseball power Louisburg.

But as the Rhinos have done all season long, they responded with relentless hitting in a 15-6 victory at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park.

After building a 6-0 lead after one inning, Louisburg tied the game at 6 after 4 1/2 innings before Gaston College scored nine runs in the next four innings to pull away for its 19th straight victory this season.

Ranked in the top 10 of all three National Junior College Athletic Association Division II polls this week, the Rhinos roared ahead with their six-run first inning highlighted by Wade Kelly's grand slam home run.

After Louisburg scored once in the first and second innings and two runs in the third and fourth innings to tie the score at 6, Gaston College relievers shut down the Hurricanes the rest of the way - and the Rhinos' offense exploded.

Louisburg, a NCJAA Division I school that has made a Region 10-record 10 World Series appearances, fell to 12-6 on the season with the loss.

"We got off to a fast start and then our offense had a little bit of a lull," said Rhinos head coach Shohn Doty, whose team is No. 4 in the www.thejbb.net poll, No. 7 in the PBR Juco poll and No. 10 in the NJCAA poll. "But we were dynamic the last four innings on offense."

Kelly (four hits, five RBIs, two stolen bases) led Gaston College's 17-hit offense.

Other standouts for the Rhinos, who scored 10 or more runs for the 11th time this season, were Konni Durschlag (three hits, double), J.D. Yakubinis (three hits, three RBIs), Pierson Gunnell (two hits) and Enrique Wood (two hits, two RBIs).

On the mound, starter Hunter Shew went three innings and yielded two runs (one unearned) before two other relievers yielded four runs in the next two innings before winner Christian Baker retired all nine batters he faced with three strikeouts in three innings and Durschlag struck out the side in the ninth inning.

"We talked to our guys this week about how we're going to have to embrace the challenge of people coming for us," Doty said. "It's something we should welcome because we want to keep this thing going as long as we can.
"And I'm sure Catawba Valley will be coming for us this weekend."

Gaston College returns to action this weekend with a three-game series at CaroMont Health Park against Region 10 Division II rival Catawba Valley Community College. On Saturday, the teams play a doubleheader with a single game slated for Sunday.