MONTGOMERY, Ala. (May 18, 2021) - Second-seed St. Thomas University (STU) Bobcats Baseball (34-20) eliminated fifth-seeded Our Lady of the Lake University (TX.) (34-19) from the Montgomery Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round with a 14-7 victory on Tuesday afternoon from Harrison Field on the campus of Faulkner University.

Bobcat Starters

• Emanuel Montesino - Left Field
• Gus Guerra - Center Field
• Alejandro Rivero - Third Base
• Daniel Mondejar - Catcher
• Erik Estevez - Designated Hitter
• Chris Schoeller - Second Base
• Andrew Fernandez - Right Field
• Brett Mantrana - First Base
• Adiel Quintana - Shortstop
• Christopher Coipel - Pitcher

Game Notes

• Coipel retired the Saints in order to open the elimination game.
• The first three STU hitters all successfully reached base, as Montesino and Guerra opened the game with back-to-back singles, and Rivero was hit by a pitch.
• Mondejar singled with the bases loaded to drive in the game's first two runs, as the Bobcats took a 2-0 lead.
• Schoeller capped off the inning by scoring Rivero on a fielder's choice to extend the St. Thomas advantage to 3-0.
• OLLU tallied two runs in the top of the third inning, recording three hits in the frame. 
• STU responded with a five-run bottom of the third inning, taking a 6-2 lead.
• Mondejar added another two RBI. As the senior hit his 11th home run of the season over the batter's eye in center-field to give the Bobcats a 5-2 lead. 
• Later in the inning, Adiel Quintana recorded his first career varsity hit, blasting a three-run home run over the left-center field fence to extend the STU advantage to 8-2.
• The Bobcats added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Saints error with the bases loaded.
• St. Thomas loaded the bases for the second time in the inning, bringing Quintana to the plate. Quintana added his fourth and fifth RBIs of the game with a two-run single, putting the score at 12-2.
• STU ended the inning with a second consecutive two-run single, this time by Montesino, as the Bobcats took a 14-2 advantage.
• OLLU tacked on three more runs with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth, trimming the St. Thomas lead to 14-5.
• Our Lady of the Lake hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning, bringing the score to 14-7, as the Saints faced their final three outs.
• Coipel finished the complete-game victory, staving off elimination, by turning a 1-6-3 double play, as STU sealed the 14-7 win over OLLU. 
• Coipel threw the first complete game of the season for St. Thomas in the effort. 
• The complete game by Coipel was the deepest the red-shirt junior has worked since throwing eight innings against the University of Science & Arts (OK.) in an elimination game during the 2019 NAIA World Series. 

MVBobcats

• Daniel Mondejar: 3-5, HR, 2B, four RBI
• Adiel Quintana: 2-4, HR, five RBI

Upcoming
The second-seeded Bobcats take on fourth-seeded Freed-Hardeman in an elimination game tonight from Harrison Field; first pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. The match-up between STU and FHU is the first time the teams have met on the diamond and pits the past two NAIA National Championship Runner-Ups against each other. 

-STU-