What a difference a year makes? Gaston College enters first road game as the "hunted"
When Gaston College began its baseball program in the fall of 2021 after a 50-year layoff, head coach Shohn Doty and the Rhinos wanted local, regional and eventually national respect.
After going 41-9 last spring, winning a Region 10 regular season title and earning as high as a No. 2 national ranking, Gaston College has gained much of what it sought.
So much so that the Rhinos are now "the hunted" by most teams on their schedule.
That includes Wednesday's opponent.
That opponent, Caldwell Tech, hosts Gaston College on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Lenoir's Walker Stadium in an early-season matchup of highly-regarded Region 10 teams.
The host Cobras are coming off a 49-9 season in which they went unbeaten in Region 10's Division III and advanced to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series in Greeneville, Tennessee.
Gaston College actually gained immediate respect last season when it won 8-3 at Caldwell Tech in the school's first regular season baseball game since 1972. Caldwell Tech was ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA national poll when the teams met - and Rhinos beat the Cobras 12-1 a week later in Gastonia in their return meeting.
This season, with Gaston College coming off a weekend in which it split a doubleheader against NJCAA's No. 2 preseason Division I team Walters State, Tennessee, Doty, whose 5-1 team received votes in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll, knows the Rhinos will have to turn the page quickly.
"You know, they're the standard," Doty said of Walters State, which has advanced to the NJCAA Division I World Series the last four seasons with a second-place and third-place finish. "We knew that coming in. And for us to get a split speaks volumes for where our program is and we've got to continue to go.
"But it doesn't get any easier. We're tired and we're beat up. But I can promise you Caldwell is going to want to kick our rear ends on Wednesday. And they're picked to go the World Series."
True enough as the Cobras are ranked No. 5 in the NJCAA Division III poll and are off to a 2-0 start after Sunday's sweep of Division II Wake Tech.
"Playing this game at their place is going to be a big game for them," said Doty, whose team will host Caldwell Tech at Sims Legion Park on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. "They've got a chance to beat the team that just beat the No. 2 team in the country.
"How do we get ourselves ready for that? And can we? That's what it's all about."
The Rhinos will enter with a 5-1 overall record.
Gaston College's pitching staff enters the week with an impressive 1.64 team ERA and 45 strikeouts in 37 innings that includes opening the season with 21 1-3 consecutive scoreless innings.
Starters Nolan Straniero (2-0 record, 0.00 ERA), Kyle McKernan (1-0 record, 0.00 ERA), Hunter Shew (1-0 record, 2.25 ERA) and J.D. Everett (1-1 record, 1.93 ERA) have led the way with strong support from relievers like Derek Vartanian (8 strikeouts in 3 innings).
The offense has a .293 collective batting average that is led Enrique Wood (.467 average, 4 RBIs), Konni Durschlag (.429 average, 6 RBIs), J.D. Yakubinis (.417 average) and Seth Christmas (.400 average).
"How do you respond mentally as well as physically?" Doty said after playing back-to-back doubleheaders this past weekend. "The mental aspect of it over four games is what breaks you down. To bring the energy in four straight games can be really difficult. But that's our challenge this week."