LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The St. Thomas University baseball team is heading to the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2007.  St. Thomas (44-16) defeated top seed and host Georgia Gwinnett (50-14) 8-2 in Friday's Championship Game of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round.
 
Starting pitcher Marcos Barrios was masterful on short rest, earning the win after allowing two runs on seven hits over 7.1 innings.  Barrios earned his second win of the Opening Round on two days rest.  For the tournament, Barrios pitched a total 14.1 innings, allowing two runs on 13 hits with 10 strikeouts and three walks and threw 209 pitches.  His ERA for the Opening Round was 1.28.
 
Offensively, the Bobcats were led by third baseman Paul Chacin who went 3-4 with a home run, two runs scored and an RBI.  Catcher Steven Fischer went 2-3 with three RBI and left fielder Jerry Downs was 2-4 with two RBI and a run scored.  First baseman Eric Santamaria went 2-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Designated Hitter Nico Hernandez went 2-4 with two runs scored.


 
Georgia Gwinnett took the lead 2-0 with a two-run home run by Kyler Timmerman with two outs in the top of the first.  The Bobcats responded with four runs in the bottom of the first as Downs, Santamaria and Fischer hit back-to-back RBI singles.


 
With the lead 4-2, Chacin came to the plate to lead off the third with a solo home run to left to give the Bobcats a three-run lead.  STU added three more runs in the seventh with RBI singles by Downs and Fischer.
 
Brandon Valentine, Alex Viera and Chris Rodriguez combined for 1.2 innings of scoreless relief of Barrios.  After allowing two runs in the first inning, the STU pitchers shut out the Grizzlies for the final 8.1 innings.
 
With the win, St. Thomas earn a spot at the NAIA World Series for the fifth time (1996, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2015) in school history. 

Under the guidance of Head Coach Jorge Perez, the St. Thomas University baseball team has put together an exceptional campaign in 2015.  The Bobcats, ranked 20th in the nation, finished as runners up at The Sun Conference Championship and qualified for the 2015 NAIA National Championship Opening Round.  It marked the seventh appearance all-time for STU at the NAIA National Tournament.  The Bobcats last appeared in the NAIA Opening Round in 2012.
 
At the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, St. Thomas headed north to Lawrenceville, Ga. as the no. 3 seed in the Lawrenceville Bracket.  The Bobcats opened play at the Opening Round with a 5-0 shutout win over no. 2 seed Westmont (Calif.) followed by a 10-2 win over top seed and tournament host Georgia Gwinnett.  STU would lose to Georgia Gwinnett setting up a winner-take-all Championship Game with a berth for the NAIA World Series at stake.
 
The Bobcats were impressive all season long, compiling a 10-3 record vs. NCAA DII schools including wins over nationally ranked NCAA DII teams Nova Southeastern, Lynn and Wilmington.  STU also earned seven wins against ranked NAIA teams including winning two of three games against Northwood
 
STU has been led offensively this season by left fielder Jerry Downs (.348, 7 HR, 51 RBI) , third baseman/designated hitter Paul Chacin (.335, 5 HR, 69 RBI) and first baseman Eric Santamaria (.374, 3 HR, 53 RBI). 
 
On the mound, the Bobcats are led by starting pitchers Marcos Barrios (9-2, 3.63 ERA, 78 SO/96.2 IP) and Alex Hernandez (3-1. 2.93 ERA) along with closer Chris Rodriguez (12 saves, 3.00 ERA, 26 SO/27 IP).
 
Individual accolades this season include First Team All-Conference for Jerry Downs and a Second Team All-Conference nod for catcher Steven Fischer.  Paul Chacin (week ending March 2) and Adam Duarte (week ending April 20) each won Sun Conference Player of the Week honors.  Alex Hernandez was named Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 13.  Michael Centeno, Andres Hernandez, Jose Lazaro, and Brandon Pomeranz all earned Academic All-Conference honors.

For more information stayed tuned to stubobcats.com and follow all news for the upcoming NAIA World Series at http://www.naiaworldseries.com/