Former Gaston College standouts (left to right) Christian Baker, Gus Hughes and Konni Durschlag show off the Big South Conference championship trophy they helped High Point win last weekend to advance to the school's first NCAA Division I national tournament.

Posted: May 29, 2024

2024 4-year college wrapup: 5 Rhinos in NCAA championship tournaments this weekend

Five Gaston College baseball alumni will be under the brightest of NCAA College baseball spotlights this weekend in the the sport's two biggest tournaments.

Christian Baker (2022 at Gaston College), Konni Durschlag (2022-23) and Gus Hughes (2022) and the High Point Panthers make their first-ever NCAA Division I regional tournament appearance this weekend.

J.D. Everett (2022-23) and the UNC Wilmington Seahawks were upset winners in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.

And Patrick Hogan (2022) and the Catawba Indians are in the NCAA Division II World Series at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary that starts this weekend.

High Point (34-25) is coming off a three-game sweep of the Big South tournament it won for the first time in school history with Baker, Durschlag and Hughes played key roles for the Panthers. High Point will travel to face No. 6 overall seed Clemson on Friday in a regional that also includes Coastal Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Hughes was the starter and winner of High Point's 12-11 victory over Charleston Southern on May 24 with a 6 1/3 innings effort with seven strikeouts and two runs allowed. Baker pitched one inning of scoreless relief in that same game. And Durschlag batted leadoff while starting in centerfield all three games and hit .455 with five RBIs to earn all-tournament honors.

For the year, Baker is 1-0 with a 8.31 ERA in 17 appearances, Durschlag is hitting .304 with five home runs and 34 RBIs in 59 starts and Hughes is 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 15 starts and was named first team All-Big South Conference pitcher.

UNC Wilmington (39-19) is coming of a three-game sweep of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament for its eight league tournament title and second straight. The Seahawks play Georgia Tech on Friday in a four-team regional hosted by No. 7 overall seed Georgia and also includes Army.

Everett has a 0.00 ERA in two appearances this season for the Seahawks.

Catawba (44-15) is coming off two-game sweeps of the Southeast Regional and Southeast Super Regional it hosted the last two weekends. Hogan, a catcher, is hitting .250 with one RBI in five games this season.

The Indians meet Southern New Hampshire on Sunday in one of the four first round games in the Division II World Series held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary.

Here is how other Gaston College alumni did this season:

Appalachian State: Adam Quintero (2023) hit .264 with two home runs and 30 RBIs in 51 games (50 starts) for the Mountaineers (33-21-1, 16-13-1 Sun Belt Conference).

Campbell: Chandler Riley (2022) hit .286 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 46 games (44 starts) and Derek Vartanian (2023) went 1-2 with a 7.36 ERA in three starts for the Camels (31-22, 12-15 Colonial Athletic Association).

Delaware: Evan Lewis (2023) was on the roster for the Blue Hens (31-26, 16-11 Colonial Athletic Association).

East Tennessee State: J.D. Yakubinis (2022-23) hit .315 with one home run and 30 RBIs for the Buccaneers (36-20, 13-8 Southern Conference).

Elon: Nolan Straniero (2023) went 1-1 with a 7.23 ERA in 17 appearances (10 starts) for the Phoenix (21-32, 10-17 Colonial Athletic Association).

Gardner-Webb: Wade Kelly (2022-23) hit .188 with four RBIs in 32 games (30 starts) for the Bulldogs (22-31, 9-15 Big South Conference).

Lenoir-Rhyne: Miller St. John (2022-23) hit .120 with two RBIs in 29 games (nine starts), Jaxson Mangum (2023) went 1-0 with a 5.50 ERA in 10 appearances (two starts) and Tyler Parks went are junior pitchers for the Bears.

Limestone: Hayden Ridenhour (2023) went 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA in two appearances for the Saints (23-26, 14-16 South Atlantic Conference).

Lynn: Hunter Shew (2022-23) went 3-0 with one save and a 4.13 ERA in 11 appearances for the Knights (23-27, 9-21 Sunshine State Conference).

Mount Olive: Hayden Myrick (2022) went 3-1 with one save and a 3.83 ERA in 26 appearances (one start) for the Trojans (39-18, 20-9 Conference Carolinas).

North Carolina A&T: Enrique Wood (2022-23) hit .222 with four home runs and 26 RBIs in 49 games (48 starts) for the Aggies (25-28, 9-17 Colonial Athletic Association).

Oakland: Pierson Gunnell (2022-23) hit .250 in five games for the Golden Grizzlies (31-27, 18-12 Horizon Conference).

Radford: David Sande (2022-23) went 0-0 with a 10.38 ERA in four appearances for the Highlanders (16-34, 7-16 Big South Conference).

UNC Greensboro: Trey Truitt (2023) hit .252 with four home runs and 29 RBIs for the Spartans (33-21, 15-6 Southern Conference).

Young Harris: Ahmir Cournier (2022-23) was on the roster for the Mountain Lions (41-15, 22-8 Conference Carolinas).