JOHNSON, Tenn. — The Knights traveled to Johnson, Tenn. for an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup against the Johnson Royals Friday afternoon at Russell Morgan Field. A huge offensive third inning and great pitching across the board propelled the Knights to their first conference victory of the 2023 regular season.
Taking the mound in this one was Joasiah Barhite (Charlotte, N.C.), who threw a dazzling eight innings of work, while only allowing two earned runs on four hits and striking out four Royals hitters. With the win, Barhite became 1-0 on the season in his starting effort.
The Knights struck in the top of the first inning, as Chris Le (Warner Robbins, Ga.) singled up the middle to lead off the game, and ultimately worked his way around the base paths to come home on a Joshua Benfield (Stanley, N.C.) fielder’s choice.
The top of the third inning is when the Knights were really able to break the game wide open, as three hit batters and a single helped fill the bases for St. Andrews. With one out, Cesar Morillo (Pasaic, N.J.) stepped up and cracked a single to center field to give the Knights their second and third runs of the inning. With Chance Blum (Dublin, Ga.) on third base, a wild pitch was able to bring him in, before a final Garrett Hamby (Granite Falls, N.C.) single drove in the fifth and final run for the Knights in the third inning.
Benfield got on the scoresheet again, when he doubled in the top of the fifth inning, to bring in a run and add to the Knights’ total. More insurance would come when Jude Drzemiecki (Roanoke, Va.) hit a sac fly to right field to extend the Knights lead to 8-2.
In the Knights’ next time around, they would once again be able to put up multiple runs in the inning, as Le flew out to deep right field to bring in Dom Zinna (Staten Island, N.Y.) around from third base. Hamby was able to cap the inning off with an RBI single to center field and give the Knights a commanding 10-2 lead over Johnson University.
Entering the final frame, Zinna was able to pick up another RBI on a fielder’s choice as the Knights would be sitting comfortably throughout most of the middle and back end of the ball game. The Royals were able to pick up two runs in the bottom of the ninth, however Brenden Bille (Waupon, Wis.) was able to close the game out and secure the Knights victory.
Knights take two over Gaston in beach volleyball doubleheader
The Knights played host to Gaston Community College at St. Andrews University on Tuesday afternoon for a doubleheader nonconference matchup. The Knights showcased some of their most dominant volleyball we have seen to date, as they won each set at a comfortable 5-0 scoreline. With the victories, the Knights now move to a 3-5 overall record as they prepare for their Sun Conference schedule, beginning in a few days time.
Beach Volleyball – 2/21/2023 – St. Andrews vs Gaston CC
Time: 3 p.m. Location: Beach Volleyball Court in Laurinburg
St. Andrews (5) vs. Gaston CC (0)
Pairings Results:
1. Kaleigh Morawietz/Marissa Alejo-Vann (St. Andrews) def. Emma Downey/Cristina Rotola (Gaston) 21-18, 21-16
2. Bailey Zivitski/Cheyenne Bolman (St. Andrews) def. Naomi Hilliard/Millea Styles (Gaston) 21-9, 21-10
3. Parker Venable/Kyra McKinney (St. Andrews) def. Bianca Bowland/Liz Jones (Gaston) 23-21, 21-5
4. Kaitlyn Ybarra/Lauren Gauna (St. Andrews) def. Kristy Seifert/Carli Phillips (Gaston) 21-8, 21-14
5. Ryleigh Lewis/Emily Hinchcliffe (St. Andrews) def. Leilani Nolasco/ Cameryn Reaves (Gaston) 21-19, 21-6
6* Piper Berkey/Jordan Judlin (St. Andrews) def. Jordyn Skeens/Mikyla Davy (St. Andrews) 21-14, 21-19
*Exhibition
Beach Volleyball – 2/21/2023 – St. Andrews vs Gaston CC
Time: 5 p.m. Location: Beach Volleyball Court in Laurinburg
St. Andrews (5) vs. Gaston CC (0)
Pairings Results:
1.Kaleigh Morawietz/Marissa Alejo-Vann (St. Andrews) def. Emma Downey/Liz Jones (Gaston) 21-11, 21-11
2. Bailey Zivitski/Cheyenne Bolman (St. Andrews) def. Naomi Hilliard/Cristina Rotola (Gaston) 21-14, 21-13
3. Parker Venable/Kyra McKinney (St. Andrews) def. Millea Styles/Carli Phillips (Gaston) 21-3, 21-5
4. Kaitlyn Ybarra/Jordyn Skeens (St. Andrews) def. Kristy Seifert/Bianca Bowland (Gaston) 21-15, 19-21, 15-7
5. Paloma Sutty/Emily Hinchcliffe (St. Andrews) def. Leilani Nolasco/ Cameryn Reaves (Gaston) 21-9, 21-12
6* Molly Mungle/Logan Standridge (St. Andrews) def. Haley Wells/Jordan Judlin (St. Andrews) 21-13, 14-21
*Exhibition
Men’s lacrosse falls to Methodist Monarchs 12-7
The Knights traveled to the campus of Methodist University in Fayetteville for a nonconference match against the Methodist Monarchs on Wednesday. A back-and-forth contest between the sides provided a great game between the two, however, a second half push from the Monarchs ensured that they would take the final victory by a final score of 12-7.
Sean Greiner (Marietta, Ga.) kicked off the proceedings, as his early shot whistled into the back of the Monarchs net for an unassisted goal and the first goal of the contest in the opening three minutes of play.
After some back-and-forth midfield battles that saw a plethora of turnovers and ground balls, the Monarchs were able to get on the board and level things up at one apiece with 5:52 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Knights were able to retake the lead when Conan Hochburger (Marietta, Ga.) scored off of a beautiful pass from midfielder Alex Thrift, but the Monarchs would be able to respond yet again, as a late first quarter goal once again tied the game at two apiece.
As the second quarter kicked off, the Knights found instant success, as Thrift was able to score in the opening 15 seconds of play. Just three minutes later, Greiner was able to score his second goal of the match to give the Knights a 4-2 lead with 11:34 remaining in the quarter.
The next 10 minutes became all Methodist, as they were able to score four unanswered goals after forcing the Knights into untimely turnovers and winning a majority of the faceoff battles, as well. Going into the half, the Knights would be staring at a 6-4 deficit and would be looking to make a statement out of the halftime break.
The Monarchs were able to open the half with a goal within the first 30 seconds, when RJ Breeden found the net for Methodist. Midfielder Wesley Ilg (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.) answered back for the Knights off of a beautiful feed pass from Tyree Cummings (Powder Springs, Ga.). With 3:09 remaining in the quarter, Hunter Vaughan was able to find the net for Methodist as the Monarchs would hold an 8-5 lead heading into the final frame.
Looking for a comeback in the final quarter, things didn’t go as planned for the Knights, as the Monarchs were able to score the first three goals of the fourth quarter to improve their lead to 11-5 with 4:24 remaining in the contest.
Jonah Rossi (Pinehurst, N.C.) and Dylan Sawyer (Lexington, S.C.) each found late game goals for the Knights, however the Monarchs would be able to hold on to the 12-7 final victory at the sound of the final horn.
Next up for the Knights will be their first AAC matchup as they travel to Waleska, Ga. to take on No. 1 ranked Reinhardt University on Feb. 25. The contest is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.