St. Thomas finished the week 2-1, improving to 10-5 on the season, and 6-3 in the Sun Conference. Let's give you the rundown of last week and preview the upcoming schedule.

SUN CONFERENCE SERIES WIN OVER THOMAS UNIVERSITY

For the first time this season, the Bobcats didn't have a mid-week game on their schedule. The partial week off helped the team regroup after the Keiser series, and focus on their next task: A Sun Conference weekend series with the Night Hawks of Thomas University. To accommodate for the travel schedule of Thomas, the traditional doubleheader was flipped from Saturday afternoon to Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

In game one, Erne Valdes was electric. The left-hander faced 21 batters, striking out 10 of them. Valdes picked up his fourth win of the season, leading the team with a 4-0 record. On the season, Valdes leads the team with 35 strikeouts. He has thrown just 21.1 innings. He leads all Bobcat starting pitchers in ERA with a .211 ERA.

Michael Centeno stole the show this weekend, especially in the opening game. The second baseman hit two home runs, including a jaw-dropping blast to deep left field. The ball may still be traveling, but it was last seen flying over the Boras Training Institute Batting Cages. Centeno ended the game going 2-4 with 3 RBI.

STU won the game 6-1.

Game two was challenging for the Bobcats. Being dealt with adversity early, as starter Orlando Rodriguez had to leave the game after the third inning. The bullpen had to pitch seven innings. STU tied the game at three in the seventh inning, but Thomas clawed their way to two more runs in the top of the eighth to steal a victory.

The rubber game of the series sent Kenny Roder to the mound. The left-handed senior pitcher was nothing short of spectacular, going the distance when his team needed it, due to a taxed bullpen. Roder put the pitching staff on his shoulders and gave Head Coach Jorge Perez what he needed most—a complete game shutout. In nine innings,
Roder struck out eight Night Hawks, and gave up just five base runners on a walk and four hits.

STU won the game 7-0. Michael Centeno added another home run off a first inning opposite field rocket over the right field wall.

BOBCATS BRING HOME PITCHER OF THE WEEK AWARD

Kenny Roder brought home some hardware over the weekend ending February 26. Roder becomes the first Bobcat pitcher this season to win the Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week award. Working a complete game shutout over Thomas, it made for an easy vote. Roder leads STU starting pitchers with a .177 batting average against, and has a 2.33 ERA on the season.

ON DECK FOR BOBCATS

On Monday, February 27, STU travels to Ave Maria for a 2 p.m. contest against the Gyrenes. Following the game, the team will head over to St. Petersburg for two games in as many days against Eckerd. This is certainly a change of pace for the Bobcats, as they will be playing three consecutive days in two cities for mid-week action.