Gaston College's storybook softball season comes to a close in the NJCAA World Series

Gaston College's storybook season came to an end on Wednesday night after a pair of grueling games that ended in defeats for the Rhinos in the National Junior College Athletic Association World Series at Choccoloco Park in Oxford, Ala.

Against the two-time defending champion Florda SouthWestern State in its opener, Gaston College took an early 1-0 lead but couldn't hold off the Buccaneers in a 5-2 defeat.

Later on Wednesday - and after their slated 7 p.m. start was delayed 75 minutes - the Rhinos again took an early lead (2-0) before Indian Hills, Iowa used a pair of late rallies on its way to a 17-2 victory.

The losses ended Gaston College's season with a 43-10 overall record in the school's first official season in the sport. Coach Mike Steuerwald's team won the Region 10 regular season and tournament titles and swept a best-of-three Mid-Atlantic District tournament.

Seeded 15th in the 16-team tournament, the Rhinos drew a Florida SouthWestern State program that was making its fifth World Series appearance, coming off back-to-back championships and was ranked No. 2 in the final NJCAA poll.

Rhinos star pitcher Brantleigh Parrott saw her scoreless innings streak come to an end at 31 1/3 innings on a 2-run home run in the second inning. Later in the game, the Buccaneers dropped Parrott's seasonal record to 24-1 with one run in the fifth to snap the 2-all tie and a 2-run sixth.

Gracie Brown had a team-high two hits, Parrott had a RBI double and Asheton Queen, Gabrielle Porterfield, Serena Yalich and Logan Lilly all had hits to lead the Rhinos' offense. Gaston College was hurt by leaving eight runners on base and had two runners thrown out at home.

"We had lots of shots to win that first game," Steuerwald said. "We left a lot of runners on base. And when you're playing the No. 2 team in the country, you can't miss on your opportunities."

In the second game, Gaston College led 2-0 after Brown and Queen drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks in the second inning.

The Warriors tied the score in the third, then after a tiring Parrott was replaced by two relievers, Indian Hills took advantage of six errors in the next two innings to score 15 runs.

Lilly had two of Gaston College's three hits in the second game.

"We were right there," Steuerwald said. "We can a lot of pride in knowing that we're capable of competing with the best teams in the country."

Advancing to the World Series in the school's first year of postseason eligibility - and after competing as a club team the previous season with a limited roster - made the season memorable in so many ways.

"I just told them we have so much to be proud of," Steuerwald said. "We won the region, won the district, got to the World Series and became only the second first-year team to get to the World Series.
"So I'm just super proud of what we've been able to accomplish with this team. We've set the bar for teams moving forward.
"From now on, the expectation is going to be to get back to the World Series because of what this group accomplished."

The full NJCAA Division I World Series pairings at Choccoloco Park in Oxford, Ala. (with seeding, district title won followed by team and record):

(Tuesday, May 23)
Game 1: No. 1 Southwest A- Odessa, Tex. (51-4) vs. No. 16 Southeast- Gordon State, Ga. (23-22) – Odessa 3-1
Game 2: No. 8 Plains- Butler, Kansas (45-10) vs. Rocky Mountain- No. 9 Southern Idaho (45-16) – Butler 4-1
Game 3: No. 5 South Atlantic B- Northwest Florida State (52-9) vs. West- No. 12 Eastern Arizona (44-11) - Northwest Florida State 5-3
Game 4: No. 4 Appalachian- Walters State, Tenn. (52-2) vs. Mid-South A- No. 13 Angelina, Tex. (27-21) - Walters State 3-0

(Wednesday, May 24
Game 5: No. 3 South- Wallace State, Ala. (51-5) vs. Central- No. 14 Kaskaskia, Ill. (47-16) - Kaskaskia 1-0
Game 6: No. 6 Southwest B- Grayson, Tex. (46-7) vs. Mid-South B- No. 11 Bossier Parrish, La. (45-15) - Grayson 2-0
Game 7: No. 7 South Central- Seminole State, Okla. (42-6) vs. Midwest- No. 10 Indian Hills, Iowa (45-8) - Seminole State 1-0 in 8
Game 8: No. 2 South Atlantic A- Florida SouthWestern (49-5) vs. Mid-Atlantic- No. 15 Gaston College (43-8) - Florida SouthWestern 5-2
Game 9: Gordon State, Ga. vs. Southern Idaho - Gordon State 3-2 (Southern Idaho eliminated)
Game 10: Eastern Arizona vs. Angelina, Tex. - Angelina 7-0 (Eastern Arizona eliminated)
Game 11: Wallace State, Ala. vs. Bossier Parrish, La. - Wallace State 5-0 (Bossier Parrish eliminated)
Game 12: Indian Hills, Iowa vs. Gaston College - Indian Hills 17-2 in 5 (Gaston College eliminated)
Game 13: Odessa, Tex. vs. Butler, Kansas - Odessa 5-1
Game 14: Northwest Florida State vs. Walters State, Tenn. - Northwest Florida State 9-6
Game 15: Kaskaskia, Ill. vs. Grayson, Tex. - Grayson 6-3
Game 16: Seminole State, Okla. vs. Florida SouthWestern - Florida SouthWestern 2-1

(Thursday, May 25)
Game 17: Walters State, Tenn. vs. Wallace State, Ala., 11 a.m. ET Field 2
Game 18: Butler, Kansas vs. Indian Hills, Iowa, 11 a.m. ET Field 4
Game 19: Seminole State, Okla. vs. Gordon State, Ga., 1 p.m. ET Field 4
Game 20: Kaskaskia, Ill. vs. Angelina, Tex., 1 p.m. ET Field 2
Game 21: Odessa, Tex. vs. Northwest Florida State, 11 a.m. ET Signature Field
Game 22: Grayson, Tex. vs. Florida SouthWestern, 1 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 23: Game 19 winner vs. Game 20 winner, 3 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 24: Game 17 winner vs. Game 18 winner, 3 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 25: Game 21 loser vs. Game 23 winner, 7 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 26: Game 22 loser vs. Game 24 winner, 7 p.m. ET Signature Field

(Friday, May 26)
Game 27: Game 21 winner vs. Game 22 winner, 1 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 28: Game 25 winner vs. Game 26 winner, 3 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 29: Game 28 winner vs. Game 27 loser, 6 p.m. ET Signature Field

(Saturday, May 27)
Game 30: Game 27 winner vs. Game 29 winner, 1 p.m. ET Signature Field
Game 31 (if necessary): If Game 27 winner loses Game 30, approximately 3 p.m. Signature Field