Knights sweep Sunday doubleheader, split series opener against Lindsey Wilson

LAURINBURG — Two sides of the St. Andrews Knights baseball team came out on Sunday; one showing its offensive ceiling and one that delivered a stifling defensive stand.

Both resulted in wins for the Knights, as they swept the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders with 11-4 and 3-0 decisions in a doubleheader.

“It was good today to see it,” St. Andrews coach Andy Fox said. “Game 1, come out here and just blow them up. Then Game 2, scrap it out. And we need to win games like that, too, because we’re going to be in games like that this year.”

St. Andrews (2-2) splits the opening weekend series against Lindsey Wilson (2-2) after 10-1 and 4-0 losses on Saturday.

”I didn’t want to lose two games, but the (Cohen) Achen kid yesterday is a phenomenal pitcher,” Fox said. “He’s one of the best arms that I’ve seen in quite some time. So, I knew that was going to be a tough matchup for us. And then, the guy in Game 2 yesterday was also a really good arm. The most disappointing thing about yesterday was the way we played defense. I think that our defense is one of our strongest suits if it’s not our strongest suit. But I started seeing some improvements offensively. Even though we didn’t score runs in Game 2, we hit some balls hard right at people, which is just baseball.”

Game 1

The Knights came out with hot bats from the get-go in the first game Sunday, as Garrett Hamby doubled to right field and brought in Cesar Morillo and Josh Zambito for unearned runs to give St. Andrews a 2-0 lead at the end of the first inning.

“I was fortunate enough to just put a good swing on a fastball in the zone and did what I could,” Hamby said.

The next wave of runs for the Knights came in the fourth; after Lindsey Wilson’s Andres Duran and Nazhir Bergen were left in scoring position in the top of the inning, the Knights added seven more runs to go up 8-0, highlighted by Jude Drzemiecki’s three-run homer to right field. Also scoring in the frame with Drzemiecki were Hamby, Brenton Baker, Chance Blum, Caden Santucci, Drake Davidson and Cesar Morillo.

“That right there really took our momentum and allowed us to win the game,” Hamby said. “And for us to execute like that, it was huge. Props to the team.”

Santucci and Bryson Bebber were each helped home in the fifth on Morillo’s two-RBI hit for St. Andrews’ final two runs; Duran, Jonathan Barham, Jaden Cockerel and Matthew Schultz all scored in the sixth, attempting to mount a comeback for the Blue Raiders, but St. Andrews closer Drake Davidson struck out three batters in the seventh to quell it.

“Drake, this is his second year in our program,” Fox said. “Last year, he never threw an inning. And then, this year, he came up to us in the fall and was like, hey, coach, you care if I throw a bullpen? So he threw a bullpen and went from there. But he’s been really good, like the innings that we’ve seen so far this fall and this spring. And that was his first outing against outside competition that he’s had here at St. Andrews because he’s been an outfielder for us. So, he’s going to be used in that role; it might be closer, but definitely backend of the bullpen-type guy.”

While Davidson had a notable finish, Nate Moretz pitched the Knights to victory, allowing only three hits with six strikeouts and four walks in five scoreless innings; Brycen Seymore threw the sixth inning, where Lindsey Wilson scored its earned runs.

Mason Malone pitched 3 2/3 innings for the Blue Raiders, allowing eight hits and seven earned runs with three strikeouts and one walk; Gannon Herring relieved Malone for the rest of the fourth, and Riley Monheimer closed the last two innings.

Morillo finished with four hits and four RBI for St. Andrews; Drzemiecki had a hit and three RBI; Blum had two hits and two RBI and Hamby recorded two hits.

Lindsey Wilson’s Chance Stayton had two hits and two RBI, and Sam Gage and Cockerel had a hit and RBI each.

Game 2

While offense wasn’t as easily created as in Game 1, effective pitching and fielding were the differences with Lindsey Wilson for St. Andrews to get its 3-0 win.

“Those scrappy games like that, it’ll tell us a lot about ourselves, how we’re battle-tested and what we’re made of for the rest of the year,” Hamby said. “We look forward to it. If we play as good as we did today, we’ll be fine.”

The seven-inning ballgame essentially came down to mistakes by Lindsey Wilson in the fourth; Hamby reached first base on an error by third baseman Gabe Board, then with Hamby on third and Isaiah Martin on second, Seymore’s hit allowed him to get on base but put Hamby in a pickle between third and home. Two erred throws later, Hamby and Martin raced in for two unearned runs.

“That was not planned at all,” Hamby said. “But, hey, we’ll take it. It ended up working out for us. So, thank God.”

Seymore was also plated in the inning on Morillo’s RBI hit to left field.

Neither team scored in the fifth or sixth, setting up a manageable scenario for the Blue Raiders to claim the lead in the seventh — which nearly happened. Closer C.J. Harrison struggled for the Knights late, allowing Schultz, Beau Barker and Braxton Smith on base. But with two outs, Gage grounded out, as Hamby, the second baseman, tossed the ball to Seymore on first for the final play.

”I know we made it interesting at the end by not throwing strikes,” Fox said. “But still, to come out and scrap out and then preserve a split two games apiece, it’s a lot better than losing a series, that’s for sure.

“We had Ryan Cleary, who’s been one of our best bullpen arms the last couple years, in the pin ready to go. We really feel like C.J. Harrison, I mean, he just has really good stuff. His thing has been throwing strikes. And so, we’re hoping to give him some confidence because he really can be dynamic for us. But we had Cleary just in case stuff did get a little bit worse.”

Harrison walked two batters but had a strikeout and earned the save; Noah Sorrells started for St. Andrews and picked up the win after striking out four and giving up just two hits with a walk in six innings.

Glenn Simes allowed four hits and three runs with two strikeouts and two walks in 5 1/3 innings to suffer the loss for Lindsey Wilson; Reed Marcum relieved Simes in the sixth, pitching 2/3 of the inning.

Morillo recorded a hit and an RBI, while Davidson, Zambito, Martin and Garrett Wolff also had a hit for the Knights.

Koby Wall and Duran were the only Blue Raiders to get a hit.

Up next

St. Andrews hosts West Virginia Tech in a four-game weekend series beginning Saturday at noon.