Gaston College sweeps Region 10 rival as Brantleigh Parrott sets more school history

Gaston College's freshman softball standout Brantleigh Parrott set more history on Sunday with the school's first no-hit pitching performance that highlighted a Region 10 doubleheader sweep at USC Union.

Parrott struck out 14, walked none, faced only 22 batters and yielded only two baserunners (on infield fielding errors) as the Rhinos won 6-0 in the opener. The right-hander from Concord's Central Cabarrus High School also had three hits and three RBIs in the doubleheader and came on for a save in relief in a 10-8 victory in the nightcap.

"We needed to set the tone for the day and we went with her in the circle," Gaston College coach Mike Steuerwald said of giving Parrott her fourth start of the season in Sunday's opener. "She did a great job of keeping runners off base, executing her pitches and not allowing very many balls in play."

Last Wednesday, Parrott became the first Gaston College softball player to earn top national honors when she was named National Junior College Athletic Association Division I pitcher of the week.

In Sunday's sweep, Gracie Brown was the day's offensive standout for the Rhinos as she had four hits, including a double and a home run, and had three RBIs.

Her two-run home run in a 5-run fifth inning stretched a 1-0 lead to the final 6-0 winning margin.

"She did a great job," Steuerwald said of Brown. "That home run let us breathe a little bit and she was squaring up on balls all day long."

In the nightcap, Parrott actually yielded her first earned runs of the season but went three innings after starter and winner Amiya Tomlinson went three innings and Tessa Hunt one for Gaston College.

"It's like we told the team: Region play is going to be a grind and we've got get wins however we can," Steuerwald said. "Brantleigh did enough and made the right pitches to get us out of situations that allowed us to win."

Other offensive standouts for the Rhinos on the day were Gabrielle Porterfield (4 hits, 1 RBI), Logan Lilly (3 hits, 1 RBI), Asheton Queen (2 hits, triple, 3 RBIs) and Serena Yalich (2 hits, 2 RBIs).

Gaston College now plays in the two-day Fastpitch Dreams Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; The Rhinos play Bay College at 11 a.m. and Lincoln Trail College at 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Delta College at 11 a.m. and Southeastern Illinois College at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.