No. 4 Gaston College extends winning streak to 13 games

No. 4 Gaston College took charge from the outset Tuesday afternoon for a 15-2, 8-inning victory over Caldwell Tech at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.

The win extended the Rhinos' winning streak to 13 games and improved their record to 47-3 overall.

"It started in the first inning," Gaston College coach Shohn Doty said of the victory. "We ran the bases really aggressively - going from second to home on a wild pitch and first to third on a passed ball. That set the tempo.
"I felt like we played with a lot of energy early. And when you're playing the way we're playing right now, if you can bring that energy early and put a crooked number on the board right off the bat, it can deflate the other."

Gaston College struck for six runs on four hits, four walks, two wild pitches and two passed balls in the bottom of the first inning.

Caden Davidson (2 hits, home run, 2 RBIs), David Nicks (2 hits, double, 1 RBI), Nick Diehl (grand slam home run), Logan Ponnett (1 hit, 3 RBIs), Koy Swanson (1 hit, 2 RBIs), Chris Hendrickson (double, 1 RBI) and Kandan Zollo (1 hit, 1 RBI) led the Rhinos' offense.

Davidson's RBIs extended his National Junior College Athletic Association lead to 100 in 50 games this season.

On the mound, starter and winner Cross Clayton (2 innings) led a group of six pitchers who limited the visiting Cobras (29-11) to five hits and one earned run.

"We threw six guys and I thought all of them threw it well," Doty said. "We're getting healthy at the right time and we're trying to finish it out the right way. We want to play well this weekend and then have a 'Sophomore Day' to honor those guys."

In defeating Caldwell Tech, No. 5 in the NJCAA Division III, Gaston College recorded its best win over a ranked opponent since winning three of four games of then-No. 4 Florence Darlington Tech in a Region 10 Division I league series in April 2024.

The Rhinos closes the regular season with a three-game Region 10 series finale against USC Lancaster (Saturday 1 p.m. doubleheader and Sunday 26 1 p.m. single game) and next Tuesday's 3 p.m. game against Rockingham Community College.