No. 16 Gaston College softball two wins away from another World Series appearance
After a week of uncertainty, No. 16-ranked Gaston College's softball team now knows who stands in its way in pursuit of a third National Junior College Athletic Association World Series appearance in four years.
The Rhinos (58-4) travel to play Region 17 champion Georgia Highlands on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the opener of the best-of-three Mid-Atlantic District championship series. The second game is approximately 6 p.m. on Tuesday with and the third game (if necessary) on Wednesday at noon.
"I think we're in a really good spot," Gaston College coach Michael Steuerwald said. "From a team standpoint, we're about as healthy as you can be at this point."
The Rhinos, who won their berth in the Mid-Atlantic District on May 4, have spent the past week working on self-improvement and scouting potential opponents, among them four Region 17 teams they have played this season - East Georgia State, Georgia Highlands, Georgia Military and Gordon State.
"It was a good week but it was a weird week because you usually don't have a week off at this time of the year when you're pushing for a national championship," Steuerwald said. "We've played some of those teams but we've had a chance to focus on us and some of the things that we need to do better."
Gaston College swept Georgia Military in two games in last year's Mid-Atlantic District tournament at Gastonia's CaroMont Health Park. This season, the Rhinos are 12-2 against Region 17 teams - 4-0 against East Georgia State, 3-1 against Georgia Highlands, 2-0 against Georgia Military and 3-1 against Gordon State.
A year ago, a sophomore-dominated roster led Gaston College to a 63-5 overall record and fourth-place finish in the World Series.
This season, the sparkling record and success has been a surprise to Steuerwald.
"If you would've asked me at the beginning of the year if we'd be 58-4, I would've laughed," he said. "Yeah, we had a lot of players back but a lot of those were role-players other than Mary (Hinson) and (Katelyn) Brandon. (Savanna) Mullins, as much as she contributed down the stretch, she was a role-player most of last season.
"So anytime you ask so many new players to step into big roles you just never know how it's going to go."
Region 10 pitcher of the year freshman Aidan Ledbetter led a group of eight All-Region 10 performers as Ledbetter and fellow freshman Sophia Crist were first team pitchers, freshman Alexa Bianchi-Rossi first team catcher, Katelyn Brandon first team infielder and sophomore pitcher-infielder Mullins first team utility player. On the second team were outfielders Hinson and Adah Bruining and infielder Miranda Wall.
"Last season was a special run," Steuerwald said. "And, from a coaching standpoint, it takes a lot of things going your way to be able to repeat that. That's something we talked about at practice. I told the team, 'Hopefully, you have enjoyed the winning and not taken it for granted.'"