Sorrells, Knights salvage series against Milligan with win

LAURINBURG — With two outs in the first, Ryan Molinari doubled to right field; but for the next seven innings, nobody else joined Molinari with a hit for the Milligan Buffaloes.

The pitching of Noah Sorrells made it nearly impossible to do so.

Behind Sorrells — and a trio of second-inning runs — the St. Andrews Knights avoided a series sweep against Milligan on Monday, taking game three 3-1 and snapping a three-game losing skid.

Sorrells (4-2) threw a complete game, allowing one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts and one walk to get the win.

“A ton of credit goes to Noah Sorrells,” St. Andrews coach Andy Fox said postgame. “He pitched really well. But that’s what he’s capable of doing. So, we’ve got all the faith in the world in him, and he came out here today and done a heck of a job.”

”I’m a pitch-to-contact guy, and I couldn’t have done it without my defense and my offense putting up some runs for me to go through,” Sorrells said. “We really wanted to beat that team. They’ve been really having our number ever since I got here. So it was really a privilege to go out there and get that win for the team.”

St. Andrews (16-11, 5-8 Appalachian Athletic Conference) lost the first two games of the series 6-5 and 7-2 on Sunday. Milligan (20-10, 10-5 AAC) came into the series with wins in the last two meetings against the Knights, including a play-in game into the AAC tournament last year.

“It’s a little bit disappointing to only get one win because the first game yesterday, we were up 5-3 in the ninth and lost 6-5,” Fox said. “I’m glad to get this one today after what happened yesterday. But then, it’s bittersweet too, because I feel like we could have took the series. But I mean, today it’s just a testament to my guys. To show up here today and grind out a 3-1 last-game-of-the-series win; that’s a big win for us. So all the credit goes to them.”

With Sorrells on the bump in the last game of the set, it allowed the Knights to ride its three-run second to victory.

With one out in the frame and St. Andrews’ Garrett Wolff on third and Drake Davidson on second, a balk was called on Milligan pitcher Ian Weil, which scored Wolff; Caden Santucci’s RBI single to left field followed, which led to an unearned run by Davidson. After Santucci was out at third, Samuel Rosario’s RBI double to center field helped Cesar Morillo score St. Andrews’ second unearned run from first.

“I thought it was huge for us to get a lead to get some positive vibes going,” Fox said. “And we knew after the first couple innings that Noah was really on. So we knew it wasn’t going to take many, even though Milligan is very offensive. They’re second in the standings in our league. And so, we knew it was going to take more than a couple, and I would have bet you it would have taken more than three. But at the end of the day, he pitched so well, it obviously didn’t.”

Along with Sorrells’ strong play came a stifling defensive showing from the Knights.

“That’s what I pride myself on and my teams on is playing really good defense, and we usually do,” Fox said. “Just like Adrian Ojea in the ninth with a diving catch there in right (field). He was a defensive replacement in the ninth. So, he’s been sitting over here all day, hadn’t done anything, then get thrown in a game like that and make a play like that, that was a huge play for us. But all in all, our defense is our backbone. So, I know what we’re capable of. And if we play defense like we did today, we’ve just got to find a way to score runs.”

Milligan’s lone run came on a Caleb Berry solo home run in the ninth, but three successive outs made the Knights’ win official.

“These wins really come in handy late in the season,” Sorrells said. “When you look back on the season at the end of the year when you’re about to go to tournament, and a win or two can really differentiate whether you’re in the play-in game, what seed you are, who you play. And even though we’re not gonna win the series, one win here and there can really mean a lot late in the year.”

Jude Drzemiecki had two hits and Santucci and Rosario each finished with a hit and RBI each for St. Andrews.

Berry and Molinari had Milligan’s only two hits; Weil (4-2) allowed one earned run on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks across 4 1/3 innings to suffer the loss.

St. Andrews heads to Columbia International in South Carolina for a three-game set, starting on Thursday at 4 p.m.; game two will follow and game three will be on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Brandon Hodge is the sports editor for The Laurinburg Exchange. He can be reached at 910-506-3171 or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BrandonHSports.