BARTOW, Fla. – After day one of the 2011 The Sun Conference Softball tournament, No. 1 seed St. Thomas University sits atop the bracket with a perfect 2-0 record clinching a spot in the tournament championship game Sunday afternoon.  The Bobcats defeated No. 4 Northwood University 11-0 in five innings and scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat No. 2 Warner University in the night cap 8-4.

St. Thomas University made quick work of the Seahawks in their tournament opening game.  The Bobcats cruised to an 11-0, five inning victory.  St. Thomas sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring six runs on five hits and took a commanding 7-0.  Carissa Albizu and Melissa King hit back to back homeruns in the third inning as the Bobcats scored their final four runs.  Albizu's blast scored three runs. 

In the other early game, Warner University topped No. 3 SCAD Savannah by an 8-1 score.  The Lady Royals hit three homers in the opener against SCAD.  Tabatha Martin had a solo homer in the second while Becky Powell and Hayley Padgett each connected on two-run home runs in the fourth inning.  Powell also went the distance in the circle with one run allowed on eight hits over seven innings.

In the first elimination game of the day, the Bees jumped on Northwood starter Michelle Crompton for two runs in the first as Jessaca Spears and Courtney Mienkina added back-to-back RBI singles. SCAD took a 4-0 lead in the fourth when Brittany Gonzales deposited a two-run homer inside the left-field line.  Nirana Singh led off the fifth with a home run to left field before SCAD closed out the scoring with two runs in the sixth eliminating the Seahawks.

 The Lady Royals and Bobcats met in the winner's bracket game with a berth in the Championship game on the line.  After trading blows for six innings, the Bobcats used four runs in the top of the seventh to break a 4-4 tie and held on to defeat Warner University 8-4.  In the inning, the Bobcats went ahead on a two-run homerun off the bat of Carissa Albizu just two batters into the inning.  St. Thomas would go on to score two more runs in the inning chasing reliever Haylee Padgett from the game.  The Lady Royals put a runner on base in the bottom of the inning but could not climb out of the hole falling to the Bobcats 8-4.  Brenda Emerson tossed all seven innings for the Bobcats to earn her second win of the tournament.

Action continues tomorrow with an elimination game between SCAD and Warner University at 12 p.m. at the 555 Softball Complex.  St. Thomas University will await the winner in the 2:30 p.m. Championship game and will have to be defeated twice.