Box Score HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Top seed St. Thomas (54-7) won its first game at the NAIA Opening Round Hattiesburg Bracket with an 8-2 victory over no. 5 seed and event host William Carey (34-24) late Monday night.  

With the win, the 2018 Bobcats matched the school record for overall wins in a season with 54, tying the previous mark set in 1998.

St. Thomas will now play no. 3 seed IU Southeast in a winner's bracket game scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Jackie Urbaez went 1-for-2 with a home run and four RBI, while Elih Marrero was 1-for-3 with three RBI to lead the Bobcat charge offensively.

Starting pitcher Orlando Rodriguez (14-0) maintained his perfect record on the season after allowing two runs on seven hits to go along with seven strikeouts.

Marrero opened the scoring for the Bobcats with a two-run single that scored Randy Oliva and Nick Izquierdo (2-3, RS) in the bottom of the third. Urbaez followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Erick Delgado to give STU a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the fifth, William Carey scored two runs to cut the St. Thomas lead to 3-2, but the Bobcats answered with a three-run home run by Urbaez in the bottom of the frame.  The homer, shot to right field with two outs, was the ninth of the season for Urbaez. 

Rodriguez then got in a groove with two consecutive 1-2-3 innings that kept the Crusaders at bay. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Marrero then hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score pinch runner Chris Allende and give the Bobcats a 7-2 advantage.  The RBI was the 78th of the season for Marrero.

In the bottom of the eighth, Oliva then went yard with his ninth home run of the season to stretch the lead to 8-2.

Reliever Tyler Morales came in to close out the win for the Bobcats, shutting down the Crusaders in top of the ninth.