No. 23 Gaston College records impressive four-game weekend sweep

No. 14 Gaston College's baseball completed an impressive four-game weekend sweep of nearby Catawba Valley Community College by taking 8-0 and 4-0 victories on Saturday at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park and then winning 13-6 and 6-2 at Hickory's Henkel-Alley Field.

The Saturday doubleheader shutout sweep was the eighth in school history (sixth since 2022) and featured the school's third one-hitter and two of the top strikeout games in schoo history.

Freshman left-hander Noah Zimmerman started Saturday's sweep with a 14-strikeout, one-hit, 90-pitch effort in which he yielded only a sixth-inning leadoff single. Zimmerman's 14 strikeouts tie him for third in school history with current New York Yankees minor leaguer Gus Hughes (2022) and trails only former Houston Astros minor leaguer Alan Lindsay, who struck out 19 and 15 in games in the 1971 season.

Zimmerman's one-hitter joins Lindsay and former Forestview High School state championship-winning coach Ken Beaty who had one-hitters in the 1971 and 1972 seasons, respectively; Hughes threw the first no-hitter in school history in 2022, two combined no-hitters were thrown in 2023 and Evan Vandenbosch threw a no-hitter in the 2024 Region 10 tournament.

Freshman Daniel Parris (3 hits, double, 3 RBIs) led a 10-hit offense in Saturday's opening game win.

Sophomore right-hander Conner Frail followed up Zimmerman's effort with an 11-strikeout, two-hit, 82-pitch effort that ranks him in the top 10 in single game strikeouts in school history.

Sophomore Jackson Toberman hit a RBI single and Koy Swanson followed with a three-run home run to power the five-hit offense in Saturday's nightcap victory.

On Sunday on the road, the pitching was again dominant the hitters produced 17 and six hits, respectively, in the victories.

Parris, a right-hander, shined on the pitcher's mound (4 innings, 5 strikeouts, win) and at the plate (2 hits, home run, 3 RBIs) in the 13-6 win in Sunday's opener.

And freshman left-hander Drake Purvis (5 2/3 innings, 6 strikeouts, win) and sophomore right-hander Clayton Sherwood (1 1/3 innings, 1 strikeout, save) combined on a four-hitter with Swanson (solo home run), sophomore catcher Nick Lundquist (2-run home run) and freshman David Nicks (2-run double) leading the offense.

The Rhinos (5-3-1) return to action on Tuesday at 1 p.m. for a game against the Carolina Rays at Gastonia's Sims Legion Park.