STU NAIA
Rick O'Connor
8
Winner St. Thomas STU 45-17
3
Davenport DU 51-12
Winner
St. Thomas STU
45-17
8
Final
3
Davenport DU
51-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Thomas STU 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 4 8 16 2
Davenport DU 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 8 2

W: Hernandez, Alex (4-1) L: MURPHY, Corey (9-5)

Game Recap: Baseball |

ST. THOMAS REMAINS ALIVE AT NAIA WORLD SERIES; PREVAILS AGAINST DAVENPORT IN ELIMINATION GAME

LEWISTON, IDAHO – Ninth seeded St. Thomas (45-17) bounced back in a big way, defeating fifth seeded Davenport (51-12) in decisive fashion and keeping their national title hopes alive.  With the 8-3 victory, the Bobcats advance in the 10-team, double-elimination tournament and will play the loser of the Faulkner (Ala.) vs. Vanguard (Cali.) game on Monday at noon ET.

St. Thomas, who are 14-3 when coming off a loss, led the entire game, beginning with a 1-0 lead in the top of first. Davenport cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, but the Bobcats exploded with four runs in the top of the ninth to pad the lead to five runs.
 
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The Bobcats got off to a good start in the first.  Cesar Ramirez hit a double, and soon stole third.  On the very next play, Ramirez would come home off a Paul Chacin RBI single to shallow center.

Bobcats followed up their solid first inning with another productive inning in the top third.  It began with a Nico Hernandez single to left.  Hernandez would advance to third off a Chacin single to shallow right-center.  Jerry Downs would then step up to the plate and bring Hernandez home with an RBI single through the hole at short stop.

The Panthers would finally add a run in the bottom fourth, when Zach Sardellitti blasted a homer to right field.  That would serve as Davenport's lone highlight of the inning.

The Bobcats would again generate some momentum in the top sixth.  St. Thomas success forced the Panthers into two pitching changes, but neither move curbed the Bobcats success.  Steven Fischer opened up the floodgates with a double to left-center.  David Quintero, known for his excellent base-running, replaced Fischer at second as a courtesy runner.  Oscar Rodriguez then delivered an RBI single to bring Quintero home.  A few plays later, Rodriguez would score from second off a Hernandez RBI single through the hole at short stop.

The script would flip in the bottom seventh, when it was St. Thomas who was forced into two pitching changes.  Pinch runner Tyler Baratono scored off a Cody Greear RBI single to shallow left-center.  Three Bobcats were in the area, but neither could locate the ball.  A Cam Cooper bunt would load the bases for the Panthers.  Connor Seymour was then hit by an Alex Viera pitch, scoring Zac Wilson.  Viera would respond by retiring the next two batters to maintain the Bobcat lead at 4-3.

The Bobcats would carry their 4-3 lead into the ninth, when they erupted for another big scoring inning.  Hernandez hit a lead-off single to second.  Two plays later, Chacin hit an RBI single up the middle to score Hernandez.  With two on, Fischer singled through the hole at second, scoring Brandon Canizares and Quintero.  Eric Santamaria, who reached earlier on a bunt, would eventually score the Bobcats eight run off a stolen base.  The Panthers had no answer and saw their tournament run come to an end with an 8-3 defeat.

Starting pitcher Alex Hernandez (4-1) earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings.  Brandon Valentin came in to relieve Hernandez and allowed a run before Alex Viera and Chris Rodriguez combined to pitch three shutout innings to close out the win.

Offensively, catcher Steven Fischer led the Bobcats going 3-4 with a double and two RBI.  Third baseman Paul Chacin went 3-5 with two RBI, while center fielder Oscar Rodriguez went 2-5 with an RBI.

Update: Second seeded Faulkner defeated tenth seeded Vanguard 4-1 in their match-up.  The Bobcats will face Vanguard on Monday at noon ET. Live stats/broadcast for the game will be available at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/

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