March 1-2, 2008

Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

HARTSVILLE, S.C.—Senior starter T.J. Chrusch (Fleetwood, Pa.) tossed a seven-inning no-hitter as the St. Andrews baseball team defeated Coker College 4-0 in Saturday’s nightcap. The Cobras (7-12 Overall; 2-7 Conference Carolinas) rallied to win the series-opener 8-7 while the Knights (6-12; 2-7) won Sunday’s rubber game, 8-2, to win their first league series of the year.

Senior Michael Eastwood (Grantsboro, N.C.) batted .538 in the three-game series with seven total hits. Senior Eric Stone (Laurinburg, N.C.) and sophomore Vince Giunta (Sewell, N.J.) each drove in four runs while senior Sam Williams (Rockingham, N.C.) had five hits.

Chrusch (1-3) threw 84-pitches in his first collegiate no-no while freshman Kyle Cummings (Wake Forest, N.C.) tossed seven strong innings in the other two games picking up the victory in the finale.

No home runs were hit in the series but SAPC connected for nine extra base hits including five doubles and four triples.

St. Andrews next visits Virginia State University on Tuesday afternoon for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m.

GAME 1: Saturday – Coker 8, St. Andrews 7

The Knights posted four runs in the first inning and continued to lead 6-3 heading into the seven-inning stretch before Coker posted five runs. The Cobras then barely held off a nine-inning rally by St. Andrews to win by one-run.

Eastwood was 4-for-5 in the opener while Giunta had a team-high two RBI. Giunta, Williams, and sophomore Alex Ridout (Wake Forest, N.C) all had doubles in the game.

Senior starter B.J. Horne (Hamlet, N.C.) took the loss allowing eight runs (six earned) over 6.1 innings. Horne (3-2) had five strikeouts.

Trailing 8-6 in the ninth, St. Andrews cut the deficit in half when Eastwood led off with a single and scored on a Williams double but Coker ended the Knights rally with a fly out.

GAME 2: Saturday – St. Andrews 4, Coker 0

Saturday’s nightcap was the T.J. Chrusch show, as he shut down the Cobras bats with a no-hitter. Chrusch tossed the seven-inning no-no on 84-pitches and six strikeouts. Chrusch becomes the first St. Andrews’ pitcher to throw a no-hitter in recent history.

Chrusch and the Knights were only one walk and two errors away from a perfect game.

St. Andrews gave Chrusch his run support early scoring two runs in the first and one run in both the second and third. Eastwood had an RBI-triple and then scored on an RBI-groundout by Williams in the first. Sophomore Jeremy Fisher (Catonsville, MD.) had an RBI in the second while a junior Kyle Norris (Laurel Hill, N.C.) triple in the third plated the Knights fourth run

GAME 3: Sunday – St. Andrews 8, Coker 2

St. Andrews won the weekend series in Hartsville, S.C., by taking Sunday’s rubber game 8-2. For the third straight game the Knights lineup jumped right on the Coker pitching by scoring runs in the first inning. Just like the first game of the series St. Andrews posted four runs in the opening frame but this time the Knights were able to hold onto the lead.

After a Giunta sacrifice fly, Stone drilled a bases loaded triple in the first to give St. Andrews its four-run cushion in the first.

The Cobras picked up one run in the third before the Knights added three more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 7-1. Sophomore Charles Weber (Concord, N.C.) started the rally with an RBI-double; Stone followed with a sac fly; and Fisher capped the outburst with an RBI-single.

Both teams added a run in the ninth including a Giunta double that scored Williams as St. Andrews coasted home to the six-run victory.

In only his third collegiate start, Ridout allowed just one run on four hits in 3.2 innings of work. Ridout, who had one strikeout, was not eligible for the victory by not going five innings.

Cummings was credited with his second win of the season in relief of Ridout allowing just one unearned run on three hits over 5.1 innings. Cummings (2-1) fanned four Cobras in the victory.

Williams was 3-for-4 with three runs scored in the finale while Stone collected four RBI.