No. 18 Gaston College sweeps USC Union with two pitching gems, including a no-hitter

No. 18 Gaston College's pitching dominance continued on Friday afternoon as the Rhinos beat visiting USC Union 8-0 and 7-2 in a doubleheader sweep at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park.

In the opener, freshman Aidan Ledbetter improved her seasonal record to 14-1 while becoming the fifth pitcher in school history to throw a no-hitter as Gaston College improved to 43-4 overall and 11-1 in Region 10.

Ledbetter, a 2025 graduate of nearby Crest High School, faced only 16 batters while striking out eight in a game in which a one-out error in the first inning was USC Union's lone baserunner. She has now thrown a no-hitter, a one-hitter and five two-hitters this season.

In the nightcap, Sophia Crist pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeouts.

"We got two really good outings out of our starting pitchers today," Gaston College coach Michael Steuerwald said.

Offensively, Alexa Bianchi-Rossi (3 hits, double, 2 RBIs), Mary Hinson (3 hits, double, 1 RBI), McKenna Jones (3 hits, double, 1 RBI), Jalyn Kopp (2 hits, 1 RBI), Mallie Courson (2 hits, 1 RBI) and Crist (2 hits, double, 2 RBIs) led the way for the Rhinos.

Gaston College next week will close out its home schedule at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park with a pair of Region 10 doubleheaders - Thursday against Florence Darlington Tech in a 3 p.m. doubleheader and next Friday against USC Salkehatchie in a 2 p.m. doubleheader. Next Friday's game will be preceded by a ceremony honoring the Rhinos' sophomore class.

"Next week is a big week for us with FloDar coming in on Thursday and 'Sophomore Day' on Friday," said Steuerwald, whose team entered the weekend tied with Florence Darlington Tech as lone Region 10 teams with one league loss. "We're in a really good spot. Halfway through conference, we're 11-1. We just have to keep taking care of business."