Nationally-ranked Gaston College gets near no-hitter from Konni Durschlag

Just a week earlier, Gaston College coach Shohn Doty was looking to find a fourth starting pitcher since he knew his team would have six mid-week Region 10 games coming up on the next four Wednesdays in April.

Konni Durschlag, normally the Rhinos' starting left fielder, had a strong effort a week ago in his first career collegiate start against Spartanburg Methodist.

He was even better on Wednesday night at Sims Legion Park as he pitched 8 2-3 no-hit innings in Gaston College's 4-0 win over Cleveland Community College in National Junior College Division II action.

Durschlag retired 26 of the 30 batters he faced before leaving with nine strikeouts while yielding two walks, two hit batters and one hit for the nationally-ranked Rhinos as they improved to 31-2 overall and 21-1 in the West Division of Region 10.

"I felt pretty good out there," said Durschlag, a freshman right-hander from Charlotte's Mallard Creek High School. "I just had to get my off speed pitches in there for strikes."

Until yielding a single to center field to Robert Moya with two outs in the ninth inning, only twice had Cleveland Community College come close to getting hits off Durschlag; Each was erased by defensive gems - one from left fielder Xavier Swann in the fifth and one from center fielder Wade Kelly in the sixth inning.

"We know he throws a lot of strikes and has been really effective for us," Gaston coach Shohn Doty said of Durschlag, who has recorded four saves as the team's closer already this year. "We just hadn't extended him before like this. When we looked at the schedule, we knew we had some mid-week conference games and were looking for a fourth starter. He's found a role for himself the last two weeks the way he's pitched."

Durschlag's effort came 11 days after teammate Gus Hughes threw a seven-inning no-hitter against Wake Tech - the first no-hitter in school history.

The Rhinos gave Durschlag all the support he would need with a two-run innings in the fifth and seventh.

Miller St. John drew a one-out walk in the fifth, advanced to third on Ahmir Cournier's single and scored on a wild pitch. Cournier later scored on a two-out fielding error by the visiting Yetis (18-17, 10-12).

In the seventh, Enrique Wood's two-out, two-run single drove in J.D. Yakubinis and Pierson Gunnell, who drew one-out walks earlier in the inning.

Gaston College, ranked in top four of all three NJCAA national polls this week, returns to action on Saturday when they visit Guilford Tech for a three-game series; The teams play a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a noon single game on Sunday.