CLEARWATER, Fla. (May 4, 2024) - The (RV) St. Thomas University (STU) Softball team has been named Sun Conference Champions after going 3-0 in the conference tournament and defeating #25 Southeastern University in the Championship game. The Bobcats defeated the Fire 8-2 on Saturday afternoon, earning the title and an automatic berth into the National Tournament.

After earning a bye in the first round of the Tournament, the Bobcats went on to face Southeastern and Coastal Georgia in their first two games of the tournament, defeating them both to earn a spot in the championship match up. The Bobcats went on to meet again with the Fire in the Championship game on Saturday afternoon.

The Bobcats took the lead first, scoring two runs in the second inning. Mya Achenbach reached first on a fielding error by the second basement, scoring Alison Morales and Alahnis Berrios, to put the Bobcats up 2-0 in the top of the 2nd inning. 
The Bobcats held the lead until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Fire responded. Southeastern put up two runs of their own, tying up the game heading into the top of the final inning. St. Thomas took to the plate and attempted to take back the lead. They went on to score in three back-to-back plays, starting with Natalie Kopicova reaching first on a throwing error by the pitcher, advancing Achenbach to third bringing home Yarializ Maldonado. Bianca Palacios then reached on a fielder's choice, advancing Kopicova advanced to third and bringing Achenbach home to put the Bobcats up by two. Anna Toon reached on a fielder's choice, bringing Kopicova home. Destiny Falquez went on to secure the win with a three-run homer to left center, bringing home Gabriella Gilbert scored and Toon to extend their lead to 8-2.

The Bobcats ended the match up with a strikeout from Anna Toon, who went on to earn Sun Conference Tournament MVP. Toon accredited a lot of the Bobcats' victory to their energy. Toon said, "Coach Zach told us from the very first game, 'the team with the most energy is gonna win this tournament.' Our dugout was a huge part of these tournament wins. They show up everyday and we have so much fun together coming up with cheers and dancing with each other in the dugout. It's such an important aspect of our game, and our team did a great job of bringing the energy."

Toon also spoke about trusting yourself and all that the team has prepared for, "We speak a lot about mental preparation. Visualizing ourselves being successful, falling back on our conditioning, finding a deeper level of focus, and getting in the zone. I had the most fun playing softball these past three days than I ever have. I am overjoyed for our seniors who have been here, watched the program grow, and have been a huge part of our success." Toon said. "We were prepared, we were confident in what we had within our team, and we knew we had a shot as long as we played like ourselves."

Head Coach JC Gutierrez had a simple mentality, "It's hard to beat someone that never gives up. Control your controllables." The Bobcats have officially earned their first Sun Conference title since 2014 and earned themselves an automatic berth into the National Tournament.