St. Thomas (#11 Perfect Game, #24 NAIA)  went 2-2 on the week including a series win over third ranked Southeastern, improving to 30-14, 13-8 TSC, on the season. Let's take a quick look at last week and preview what's up next for St. Thomas.
 
STU WIN SERIES AGAINST #3 SOUTHEASTERN

Scores on the weekend: 
Game 1: STU 9, Southeastern 3
Game 2: STU 8, Southeastern 2
Game 3: Southeastern 6, STU 4


Heading in to the weekend, the Bobcats suffered a tough loss to swallow against the University of Miami Hurricanes. The final score read 14-2, a deficit in which the team has not faced all year long.

Something clicked after that and it clicked at the right time for STU as a tough opponent was on deck. On Friday, April 7, the Bobcats played host to Southeastern (#11 Perfect Game, #3 NAIA) for game one of the three-game series. This was the day in which the team needed to make a move and a move they made. The team had a game-high 12 hits, with nine runs coming in off of those swung bats. This proved a high efficiency from the offensive end, and Kenny Roder brought a quality start for St. Thomas, as he pitched six innings and threw for three strikeouts. Anthony Justiniano pitched the remaining three innings to a complete, one hit, two strikeout save.

In game two, the Bobcats were led by Erne Valdes, who went six innings, allowed three hits, two runs, one earned and 10 strikeouts. Andrew Denis earned the save with three shutout innings to close out the win. David Palenzuela swung the bat well as he went a perfect 3-for-3 on the day with four RBI.

The final game was dropped by STU. With a combined shutout from Tyeler Checkley and Brandon Valentin in the final three innings of game three, the Bobcats had a chance to rally. The team came up short on what could have been a series sweep against the Fire.

With that said, the Bobcats are very hot right now, and a much needed series win came on the weekend for the team, a series win that propped them into third place in The Sun Conference standings.

NOTABLE NUMBERS
 
On the weekend, Palenzuela (2 R, 6 H, 6 RBI) was the hot hitter, while Michael Centeno (4 R, 3 H, 1 RBI) and Randy Oliva (3 H, 3 RBI) followed behind him. The one Bobcat that continues to shine is Orlando Rivera (12 AB, 4 R, 3 H, 2 RBI), who now ranks no. 1 in three categories in the NAIA individual rankings. He is now no.1 in at bats per game (4.349), total at bats (187) and total hits (70).  
 
Some other STU players making moves in the NAIA rankings are James Spatafora, who is no. 1 in fielding percentage (1.000) and Valdes, who ranks no. 4 in the NAIA in wins (8), after improving his overall record to 8-1 this weekend.  Centeno ranks fifth in the nation in home runs (15).

PITCHER AND PLAYER OF THE WEEK SWEEP

For their performances over the weekend, David Palenzuela (Player of the Week) and Erne Valdes (Pitcher of the Week) both were honored by The Sun Conference.

ON DECK FOR STU
 
Coming up this week for the Bobcats is the second to last home game of the season, which comes in the form of a mid-week game against NCAA DII Lynn University (25-12) on Tuesday, April 11 at 6 p.m. Following that comes a weekend three-game conference series against cross-town rivals Florida Memorial (9-25, 2-15 TSC) on Friday, April 14 and Saturday, April 15.