St. Andrews athletics recognized for its Outreach Program
From: Staff Reports
St. Andrews Presbyterian College was
acknowledged as one of only five NCAA Divi
sion II institutions recognized on the 2006-07
Outreach Honor Roll awarded by the National
Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS)
at the Founders Luncheon of the NCAS Annual
Conference in Orlando, Florida last week.
“This honor is a tribute to the dedica
tion exhibited by Knights’ student-athletes
and coaches to try to make a difference in the
Laurinburg community, especially the Student-
Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and their
sponsor Liz Burris. St. Andrews is honored to
be a contributing member of NCAS and hopes
to receive recognition for outreach and com
munity service on an annual basis,” said St
Andrews Director of Athletics Brian Mand.
The National Consortium for Academ
ics and Sports (NCAS) announced the honor-
ees of the Outreach Honor Roll and Degree
Completion Honor Roll, both for the 2006 - 07
academic year Of the 224 member colleges
and universities across the country, 57 members
stood out for their outstanding programs and
dedication to their student - athletes and college
communities.
Each summer, statistics are requested
from NCAS members outlining their athletic
department’s time and impact in the community
as well as the number of student - athletes they
provide tuition assistance to after their athletic
eligibility has expired in order to assist their
degree completion and graduation Based on
the numbers collected, honor rolls are compiled
recognizing the top 15 - 20 percent of the NCAS
membership.
In the Outreach Honor Roll, 47 col
leges and universities were recognized for their
outreach total. St. Andrews was only one of five
D-II colleges to make the list
The National Consortium fof Academ
ics and Sports evolved in response to the need
to “keep the student in the student - athlete.”
The NCAS was established by Dr. Richard E.
Lapchick and since its inception in 1985, NCAS
member institutions have proven to be effective
advocates for balancing academics and athlet
ics By joining the NCAS, a college or univer
sity agrees to bring back, with tuition assistance,
their own former student - athletes and were
unable to complete their degree requirements. In
exchange these former student - athletes agree
to participate in school outreach and community
service programs addressing social issues of
America’s youth The Knights’ student-athletes
were active with Make A Wish Foundation and
Toys for Tots during the 2006-07 academic
year, while also helping out with several local
churches and schools.
St. Andrews Softball Excited About the
The St. Andrews Presbyterian College
softball team will take the diamond for the
first time in 2008 this weekend and the Lady
Knights are eager and ready to get their season
underway.
St. Andrews will begin the 2008 season
on Saturday, February 9 at Wingate University.
The season-opening doubleheader is scheduled
for a 1.00 p.m. start.
The Knights, under second year head
coach Elizabeth Burris, will look to build on
a 15 win season last year with an experienced
squad that feature’s all but one student-athlete
from last year’s very young team. Burris also
added two key freshmen in Jasmine Dobbins
(Pikesville, N.C.) and Kelsey McIntosh (Fair
fax, Va.) that will not only help improve upon
last years record but also become a dominate
force within Conference Carolinas.
The ’08 St. Andrews roster features
13 letterwinners.that gained at least 25 games
of experience last year including a solid core
group of four senior infielders and a number of
sophomores.
Senior right-handed pitcher Samantha
Stewart (Ft. Pierce, Fla.) will lead the way for
the Knights on the mound with her strong pitch
ing and ability to lead the team. Stewart led St.
Andrews in wins, innings pitched, strikeouts,
ERA, and complete games last year
From: Staff Reports
Senior middle infielders Mika Tanji
(Honolulu, Hawaii) and Erin Haugen (Ft. Mill,
S.C.) teamed up as one of the best double play
duo’s in the nation, ranking 22nd nationally last
year. Tanj i and Haugen, who are the two most
experienced Knights having each played in 119
games for St. Andrews, will look to turn even
more double plays in their senior season. Tanji,
who has pitched for the Knights in the past, may
also see some time on the rubber.
Senior Ashley Shurtleff (Colton, Calif)
will continue to be a versatile player for the
Knights playing both third base and in the out
field. Shurtleff started 72 games in her first two
seasons at St. Andrews. Shurtleff added, “I am
looking forward to making this season the best
so far and cannot wait for game day to come.”
A trio of junior Lady Knights have
become seasoned veterans for Coach Burris.
Brittni York (Indian Trail, N.C.) is multi-tool
player who p\ays centerfield, adds depth to the
pitching squad, and led last years club in stolen
bases. Both Dani Ghramm (Hayden, Idaho)
and Tiffany Capone (Jacksonville, N.C.) have
played at SAPC for two seasons and give Burris
more options on both defense and at the plate.
Burris will continue to develop a sopho
more class of six talented players that provide a
strong foundation that is needed for the upcom-
ing season. Catcher Kailee Munden (LaVeme,
2008 Season
Calif) had a .331 batting average in her fresh
man season, Lauren James (Bahama, N.C.) hit
the pitchers mound 24 times as a rookie last
year, Brianna Shurtleff (Colton, Calif.) has a
good eye at the plate leading last years squad
in walks, and Morgan Farroll (Newton Grove,
N.C.) will continue to patrol the outfield in a
Knights uniform.
The Knights, who were picked No. 11
in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches’
poll after winning five league games last year,
will look to make big improvements this season
with 20 scheduled conference games. SAPC’s
home opener is scheduled for Saturday, Feb
ruary 16 at 1:00 p.m. against non-conference
Mars Hill College. The Knights begin confer
ence play at home against Anderson University
on February 24 at 2;00 p.m.
Burris, who helped St. Andrews nearly
double their win total of two seasons ago, is
also eager to start, “We learned a lot last year,
both myself and the players. We have spent the
fall and this preseason working on our mental
toughness. We know that things at times will be
rough, so this year we plan to be ready to meet
those challenges head on.”
Knights baseball
Senior starting pitcher B.J Home
(Hamlet, N.C .) allowed just two hits in six
innings.of work in a 5-1 season-opening vic
tory for St. Andrews Presbyterian College
but North Greenville University was able to
survive a 5-4 battle in the nightcap as the two
non-conference baseball teams split a pair of
seven-inning contests on Saturday afternoon
at Scotland High School’s McCoy Field.
Junior catcher Kyle Norris (Laurel
Hill, N.C.) collected four hits and three RBI’s
to lead the Knights (1-1) offensively as first
year head coach Keith Williams picked up
his first win at St. Andrews. A two-run home
run by senior Curt Marshall (Rock Hill, S.C.)
sparked the Crusaders (1-1) win in the finale
“It was a good first day for us as the
pitchers threw very well and we were in a
position to win both games,” said Williams.
Home (1-0) collected his first win of
his senior season allowed just two hits, two
walks, and one unearned run over six ijinings.
The rightie fanned five Crusaders while senior
reliever Travis Lee (Frederick, Md ) preserved
the victory with a scoreless seventh inning.
“B.J. did very well today and showed
confidence in his pitches at certain points of
the game He was strong and after we got
some mns on the board Lee did a good job
finishing off the game for us,” expressed Wil
liams.
After four scoreless innings, North
Greenville scored an unearned mn in the top
of the fifth on a sophomore Chad Drosieko
(Easley, S.C.) sacrifice fly. Sophomore third
baseman Charles Weber (Concord, N.C ),
who had a great defensive day, made a diving-
catch in foul territory to end the inning and
keeping the Crusaders from a potentially big
starts season with split
From: Staff Reports
frame.
The Knights bounced right back with a
five-run outburst in the home half of the fifth.
The surge included a Weber RBI-single up the
middle and a senior Michael Eastwood (Grants-
boro, N.C.) mn-producing fielder’s choice. Nor
ris capped the rally with a two-run double to left
field while also hustling around the bases and
scoring on the same play because of a throwing
error
Crusaders junior pitcher Devin Vance
(Taylors, S.C.) matched Horne with five strike
outs but allowed five runs (four earned) on
seven hits in the loss. Freshman Justin Walters
(Laurel Hill, N.C.) had two of NGU’s three hits
in the first game.
In the second game, senior right-hander
T J. Chrusch (Fleetwood, Pa.) gave the Royal
Blue and White a chance to win by hurling 4 1/3
solid innings of solid performance in only his
third collegiate start. Chrusch registered seven
strikeouts for St. Andrews but was pulled in the
fifth due to a high pitch count,
“It a shame T.J. did not win today as he
threw extremely well He pitched really hard,
pounding it for us, but because of the pitch
count we had to take him out. Today’s perfor
mances by our starters shows we have a reli
able top side of the rotation, and with the help
of assistant coach Jim Blair, they will give us a
chance to win every time they take the mound,”
stated Williams
The Knights jumped out to a 1-0 lead in
the first on Norris single that scored junior Ivan
Rodriguez (New York, N Y.) but the Cmsaders
were able to tie the game up with back-to-back
doubles to lead off the fourth by Marshall and
freshman Grant Kelley (Morehead City, N.C ).
Marshall followed his double in the
against NGU
fourth with a two-mn homer over the 375-foot
sign in center field in the fifth to put North
Greenville ahead, 3-1. However, a senior Sam
Williams (Rockingham, N.C.) single through the
left-side of the infield in the sixth plated East
wood and cut the deficit in half
The Cmsaders took advantage of a field
ing error in the seventh and scored two more
unearned mns on a sophomore Randy Stegall
(Spartanburg, S.C.) single to pull out to a 5-2
lead.
With their backs against the wall, the
Knights started a rally in the home half of the
seventh with a leadoff walk by sophomore Vince
Giunta (Sewell, N.J.) followed by a double by
senior Eric Stone (Laurinburg, N.C ). Rodriguez
later scored Giunta with a sacrifice fly and We
ber reached base as the potential tying mn after
being hit by a pitch. Eastwood then pulled St.
Andrews to within one with an RBI single that
scored Stone.
After a stolen base by Eastwood put the
would-be tying and scoring mnners in scoring
position, junior reliever Mark Bordeaux (Sumter,
S.C.) finally settled down and forced a ground-
out as the Cmsaders escaped with the 5-4 vic
tory Bordeaux earned his first save of the season
while junior starter Grayson Smith (York, S.C.)
was credited with the win.
“Our team showed a lot of heart to put
some mns up late and rally and if they keep
working at it and believing in themselves we
will start winning those type games,” added Wil
liams.
Norris collected three base knocks in the
final game while four different Cmsaders had
two hits as each team . ollected 10 hits in the
finale. SAPC collected total of 18 hits on the
day but left 10 mnners on base.
mam