FORT MYERS, Fla. – St. Thomas (39-13) opened up their Sun Conference Tournament on a high note with a victory over the fourth-seeded Southeastern (36-18).  The match was rarely in doubt, as the Bobcats held a 3-0 lead for the majority of the contest.  A late homer by the Fire cut the deficit to two, but the Southeastern comeback would proceed no further.

The Bobcats found their way onto the scoreboard early thanks to a slew of Southeastern errors in the top second.   A muffed throw by the Fire's Clay Rideout allowed Adam Duarte to score a run.  Oscar Rodriguez, who initially reached base on a fielding error, scored the Bobcat's second run off a Michael Centeno ground-out.

The top third seemed destined for a quick one-two-three inning as Paul Chacin faced a one-two count with two outs.  Fearless, Chacin belted the pitch to left field for his third home run of the season. 

The Bobcats would carry their 3-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth.  The Fire's Willi Martin homered to left field to cut into the Bobcat lead, but those efforts proved fruitless as Southeastern was unable to put any additional runs on the board.

Chacin led the way again for the Bobcats, finishing up with the team's lone home run of the match.  Bryan Bermudez and Rodriguez notched two hits each, and Eric Santamaria and Steven Fischer both tallied a hit on the night.  Centeno was credited with an RBI off a ground-out.

Defensively for the Bobcats, Marcos Barrios (7-2) delivered another star-studded performance.  Barrios pitched all eight innings, gave up no runs, and tossed eight strikeouts.  In relief, Chris Rodriguez picked up his eleventh save.

Up next for the Bobcats is familiar foe Embry-Riddle.  The Eagles took the season series 2-1 when both teams matched up earlier in the year.  The Bobcats will look to learn from the mistakes that foiled them in their previous match-up and improve to 2-0 in the Sun Conference Tournament.  First pitch is scheduled for 7 P.M. E.T.