Gaston College's top moments from 2022-23: No. 1 Baseball sets school and Region 10 history in College World Series

Making history was the calling card for Gaston College athletics throughout the 2022-23 school year.

And the most impressive accomplishment in a year filled with them was the Rhinos' baseball program setting school, Region 10 and state history with a first-ever win in one of the most historic of college postseason tournaments.

Gaston College's baseball team went 1-2 to finish fifth in the 10-team National Junior College Athletic Association World Series at the Sam Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, Col., that has been home to the event 1958.

"It was an unbelieveable experience and something our kids will never forget and something I'll never forget," Gaston College athletic director and head baseball coach Shohn Doty said. "I think it'll just continue to springboard us forward."

After the tournament, the Rhinos were honored for their spirit and fair play on and off the diamond as Doty was given the Tilman M. 'Tillie' Bishop Sportmanship Award.

Bishop, who died in 2019 at 86, served 28 years in the Colorado legislature from 1971 to 1998 and later served a 6-year term for the University of Colorado Board of Regents, one term as a Mesa County commissioner and ended his career as a trustee at Colorado Mesa University.

"Hopefully that means we were good representatives for Region 10, tried to do things right on the field, played the right way and conducted ourselves the right way," Doty said. "I was excited about that. I was humbled that they thought our team was a good representation as a junior college to get that award. And I do think it's a team award.
"I think our guys did a great job of interacting with the media and how we interacted with the fans. I also think it was how well our fans and our student-athletes represented themselves while we were there.
"It's just more thing that we can celebrate as a program as we put our best foot forward and build for next year."

In the tournament, Gaston College lost twice to Blinn, Tex. - 9-3 and 15-0 - and defeated Shelton State, Ala., 13-6 to set school, Region 10 history and state history.

The victory - the Rhinos' 50th of the season - gave Gaston College its first-ever 50-win season. The Rhinos (50-13 overall) become the eighth Region 10 baseball team to win 50 games - and first since 2009. It is the first 50-win season by a N.C. junior college - and third all time; Louisburg went 51-11 in 2002 and Lenoir Community College went 54-12 in 2008.

It ended the careers of 23 sophomores, including 12 two-year players who joined the program in its 2022 start-up season after the school had gone 50 years without athletics.

The 12 two-year players were catcher-infielder J.D. Yakubinis, infielder Miller St. John, infielder Enrique Wood, pitcher David Sande, outfielder Hayden Brandon, outfielder Wade Kelly, outfielder Konni Durschlag, pitcher Hunter Shew, pitcher J.D. Everett, pitcher Tyler Parks, catcher Pierson Gunnell and infielder Matthew Dobson.

The 11 one-year players were outfielder Trey Truitt, infielder-outfielder Adam Quintero, pitcher Derek Vartanian, pitcher Nolan Straniero, infielder Preston Hall, pitcher Darrell Johnson, pitcher Hayden Ridenhour, pitcher Alex Jankowski, pitcher Kyle McKernan, pitcher Jaxson Mangum and pitcher Evan Lewis.

"For lack of an original term, the 'Original 12' really were important," Doty said. "I told those guys after our last game that they deserved a lot of credit. They came here when we were literally selling what we thought we were going to be able to do rather than what we knew we were going to be able to do.
"They bought into everything we were hoping to do at a time when (Gastonia's) Sims (Legion Park) didn't look like it does now. We didn't even know what our mascot was, what our colors would be or how many kids we were going to recruit. So for those kids to come in and commit to what we were trying to do and have the success that we've had is really special."