No. 25 Gaston College rolls to big victory highlighted by school-record RBI record

No. 25 Gaston College's baseball team shined on the mound and at the plate on Tuesday afternoon in a 19-1 victory over Rockingham Community College at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.

The Rhinos improved to 28-10-1 overall on a day when Belmont's David Nicks set a school record and three pitchers (Drake Purvis, Travis Smith and Nick Diehl) combined on a one-hitter.

Nicks, who played at Gaston Christian, had nine RBIs to set a school record that was previously held by Seth Christmas when he drove in seven last season in a game against USC Union.

"He had a great day yesterday with two doubles, two homers and the school-record nine RBIs," Gaston College coach Shohn Doty said of Nicks.
"Drake threw the ball really well for five innings, Travis was good and Nick Diehl is really emerging as a guy we can count on at the back end. So we're getting things lined up like we'd like for them to be."

Purvis threw five no-hit innings with one walk and six strikeouts for the win, with Smith following up with one inning and two strikeouts and Diehl striking out the side in the seventh. Smith yielded the only hit - a two-hit single after the Rhinos' lone fielding error.

After a scoreless first inning, Gaston College scored two runs in the second inning, four in the third, seven in the fourth, two in the fifth and four in the sixth.

Jackson Toberman (2 hits, 1 RBI), Trey Markham (2 hits), Ty Corbin (double, 2 RBIs), Holden Cooper (1 hit, 2 RBIs), Elijah Grant (1 hit, 2 RBIs) and Brandon Crabtree (double) were other offensive standouts.

Gaston College (11-7 Region 10 Division I) returns to league play this weekend with a three-game home series against USC Sumter (19-16, 9-9), which comes in on a nine-game winning streak. The Rhinos host a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and a 1 p.m. single game at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.

"Sumter comes in here red hot," said Doty, whose team won two of three games at USC Sumter in their first series this season. "They're on a nine-game heater. For us, it's about positioning ourselves for the tournament. I definitely think Tuesday was a good step in the right direction and we've just got to keep moving forward."