SAU roundup: Hannah hired as women’s basketball coach

LAURINBURG — Denise Hannah has been hired as St. Andrews’ head women’s basketball coach.

Hannah, a native of Miami, Florida, graduated from Miami Southridge Senior High School where she was a three-sport athlete.

She brings coaching experience from the professional, collegiate and high-school levels to the Lady Knights program. She started as a high school coach, where she served for nine years while she was teaching at Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She also served as an athletic director and academic success coordinator at the high school level.

Hannah continued to prioritize academics when she was an academic success coach and athletics advisor at Albany State University. Hannah started as a college coach with Sun-Conference rival St. Thomas University; she coached for the Bobcats for two seasons (2017-19).

Following her experience at St. Thomas, Hannah moved to another Sun Conference Institution — Thomas University. At Thomas, she was the women’s assistant coach for one season, and in September 2021, she was hired as the head women’s basketball coach at The College of Coastal Georgia, where she coached for three seasons.

Hannah was a four-year standout player at Oklahoma City University. She helped lead the 1988 team to become the first NAIA National Champion. Following the standout season, she earned a spot on the NAIA National Championship All-Tournament second team. She was a three-time NAIA All-American, earned first-team All-Sooner Athletic Conference honors all four years and was tabbed the SAC Freshman of the Year. She finished her career as the fifth all-time leading scorer (1,755) and holds the school record in rebounding (1,255).

Hannah spent time playing overseas for the Republic of China. During her time on the team, she was the team captain and earned Defensive Player of the Year. She was the team rebounding leader (15 rebounds per game) and ranked second in scoring (17 points).

She had several invites to participate in the WNBA as a free agent.

Hannah earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Oklahoma City. She has two adult children — Jamaal and Jaddah — five granddaughters — Caleigh, Jahzara, Jahzea, Jahzore’ and Jaset — and one grandson — Jarvon.

Baseball splits doubleheader against NCAA Div. II William Peace

The St. Andrews Knights baseball team won game one 5-3 and lost game two 7-6 to split its doubleheader against NCAA Division II William Peace at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary on Tuesday.

In game one, St. Andrews (24-17) led 1-0 after the first inning, 4-0 after the third and 5-0 after the fifth; William Peace (11-20) scored a run in the sixth and had its comeback attempt stopped short with only two in the seventh.

St. Andrews’ Garrett Hamby had a single and a double with two RBIs; Caden Santucci had a double with two RBIs; Samuel Rosario had a double and a triple with an RBI and Cesar Morillo had two hits. Jacob Thoresen was the winning pitcher, throwing four scoreless innings and allowing two hits with a strikeout and two walks; Ryan Cleary was credited with the save.

William Peace’s Nick Tyler and Alex Levesque had a hit and an RBI each; Aaron Kimbel had an RBI; Will Thistle had two singles and Griffin Sandstrum had a double. Benjamin Borte took the loss on the bump, giving up four earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 2 2/3 innings.

In game two, the Pacers walked it off in the seventh with Levesque’s two-RBI single that brought in Jacob Case and Tyler, capping off a three-run frame; the Knights scored four in the top of the seventh to go up 6-4 and had a run in the second and third. William Peace scored twice in the second and once in the fourth and sixth to cut it to a two-run deficit.

Dalton Frasier had a triple and two RBIs for William Peace; Levesque had a single with two RBIs; Nicholas Weisner had a double with an RBI; Sandstrum had an RBI; Kyle Peters had a single and a double and Dalton Meredith had a double. Jarrett Hall — one of six arms that threw for the Pacers — earned the win despite allowing two earned runs on four hits with two strikeouts in one inning.

St. Andrews’ Garrett Wolff had a solo home run and an RBI single; Morillo had a single and a double with an RBI and Jude Drzemiecki had a single with two RBIs. Brycen Seymore tossed 2/3 of an inning, giving up three earned runs and two hits with a strikeout and a walk to take the loss.

St. Andrews remains away for a three-game series with Tennessee Wesleyan, beginning Friday at 3 p.m.; games two and three will be on Saturday.

Softball drops back-to-back games against CIU

The St. Andrews Knights softball team dropped both games of its home doubleheader Tuesday afternoon against the Columbia International University Rams in 11-7 and 13-3 decisions.

In game one, the Rams (18-24, 7-17 Appalachian Athletic Conference) started the first inning hot, scoring five runs to jump out to an early lead. The Lady Knights (7-37, 2-22 AAC) were not able to respond with a run until the second; Jaylin Joss singled to left field, later advanced to third on Maddie Taylor’s double to left field then scored on Tess Ruschman’s groundout.

The Lady Knights stormed back in the third with six more runs, led by singles from Natalie Victores and Charlie Mullins; two walks and a Rams error saw the Lady Knights fight back with five runs before Hanna Johnson contributed another single, giving the Lady Knights their first lead at 7-6.

Neither side struck again until the Rams added three more runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh. The Lady Knights couldn’t rally on offense, giving the Rams the victory.

In the second game of the afternoon, the Rams continued their offensive prowess, shooting to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. The Lady Knights chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the second when Valentina Jara singled to lead off; Jara advanced to third after a passed ball and a groundout, then scored the first run by stealing home.

The Rams did not let up, roaring back for five runs in the fourth to extend their lead to 7-2. The Lady Knights added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth by Joss, who reached base on a single, and Mullins, who was hit by a pitch.

But the Rams’ bats continued to deliver, scoring three runs in the fifth, and another three in the sixth to extend their lead to 13-3. The home team couldn’t rally in the bottom of the sixth, leading to a loss by the 10-run mercy rule at the end of the inning.

The Lady Knights’ next time on the field is for a doubleheader away at Bluefield on Friday at 2 and 4 p.m.