Gaston College baseball drops its opening game at NJCAA World Series

Gaston College's National Junior College Athletic Association World Series baseball debut ended in a disappointing 9-3 loss to Blinn, Tex., on Sunday at Sam Suplizio Field in Grand Junction, Col., in front of a crowd of 5,123.

In a game that started at 10 a.m. locally, the Rhinos took an early 2-1 lead before the Buccaneers took control of the game with a 6-run third inning rally.

The loss knocks the Rhinos (49-12) into the loser's bracket of the 10-team, double-elimination tournament. Gaston College next plays on Tuesday at noon Eastern Time against Wabash Valley, Ill.

Coach Shohn Doty's Rhinos, in their first season of NJCAA postseason eligibility since restarting their athletic program in the fall of 2021, are one win shy of becoming only the eighth Region 10 team to get 50 victories in a season - and first since 2009.

In Sunday's game, after Blinn catch Ian Collier his the first of his two home runs to give the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead, Gaston College scored twice in the top of the third inning.

Miller St. John opened the inning with an infield single and Konni Durschlag followed with a walk. After a one-out double steal moved them to third and second, respectively, Trey Truitt's 2-out, 2-run double to right field gave the Rhinos a 2-1 lead.

Gaston College reached based 12 times - on seven hits and five walks - but failed to convert other opportunities as the Rhinos left two runners on base in the second inning, a runner on second base in the fourth and sixth innings and left the bases loaded in the fifth.

"That was the story of the day," Doty said. "Here in Grand Junction, you have to hit. That's the way the stadium is built. And we left the bases loaded one inning and we struck out 13 times which is very uncharacteristic of what we do."

Wade Kelly, whose ninth inning home run accounted for Gaston College's third run, led the way with three hits and St. John had two.

The Rhinos used four pitchers in Sunday's game - previously unbeaten starter Derek Vartanian and relievers Jaxson Mangum, David Sande and Hunter Shew.

Vartanian, who entered the game with a 9-0 record and seven walks allowed in 73 2/3 innings, yielded back-to-back walks to open the big third inning rally.

"Maybe the strike zone was a little tighter than we're used to," Doty said. "He (Vartanian) walks seven all year long and he walked two in a row and I think that changed his mindset a little bit because he quit attacking as much and tried to throw strikes."

The full NJCAA Division I World Series results and pairings (with seeding, district title won followed by team and record):

(Saturday, May 27)
Game 1: No. 4 Southwest- Weatherford, Tex. (50-9) vs. No. 7 South Central- Delgado, La. (45-11) - Weatherford 10-9
Game 2: No. 1 South Atlantic- Central Florida (51-6) vs. No. 10 Appalachian- Andrew, Ga. (34-23) - Central Florida 12-0 in 5
Game 3: No. 2 Plains- Johnson County, Kansas (55-8) vs. No. 9 South- Shelton State, Ala. (31-28) - Shelton State 6-5 in 10
Game 4: No. 3 Midwest- Wabash Valley, Ill. (53-11) vs. No. 8 West- Salt Lake, Utah (31-18) - Wabash Valley 9-8

(Sunday, May 28)
Game 5: No. 5 Mid-South- Blinn, Tex. (44-13) vs. No. 6 East- Gaston College (49-11) - Blinn 9-3
Game 6: Delgado, La. vs. Andrew, Ga. - Delgado 11-5 (Andrew eliminated)
Game 7: Johnson County, Kansas vs. Salt Lake, Utah - Johnson County 16-4 in 5 (Salt Lake eliminated)

(Monday, May 29)
Game 8: Shelton State, Ala. vs. Wabash Valley, Ill. - Wabash Valley 6-5
Game 9: Delgado, La. vs. Johnson County, Kansas, 3 p.m. ET
Game 10: Weatherford, Tex. vs. Central Florida, 9 p.m. ET

(Tuesday, May 30)
Game 11: Gaston College vs. Shelton State, Ala., noon ET
Game 12: Game 10 loser vs. Game 9 winner, 4 p.m. ET
Game 13: Wabash Valley, Ill. vs. Blinn, Tex., 9 p.m. ET

(Wednesday, May 31)
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 13 loser, 4 p.m. ET
Game 15: Game 10 winner vs. Game 13 winner, 9 p.m. ET

(Thursday, June 1)
Game 16: Game 14 winner vs. Game 15 loser, 5 p.m. ET
Game 17: Game 15 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 9 p.m. ET

(Friday, June 2)
Game 18: Game 17 winner vs. Game 16 winner, 9 p.m. ET

(Saturday, June 3)
Game 19 (if necessary): If Game 17 winner loses Game 18