Miami Gardens, Fla. - Coming off a series sweep and a productive non-conference schedule, St. Thomas Baseball will open its Sun Conference season against Florida Memorial in the Battle of Miami Gardens. Both teams enter play with a seven game win streak.  

Game Details
Teams: Florida Memorial University (13-6, 0-0 SUN) at #17 St. Thomas University (15-7, 0-0 SUN)
Dates: Thursday, March 12 (3:00 pm and 6:00 pm), Friday, March 13 (TBD), and Saturday, March 14 (TBD)
Location: Paul Demie Mainieri Field | Miami Gardens, Fla. 
Media: Live Stats | Live Video 

Probable Starters
Game 1 (Thursday, March 12 at 3:00 pm): LHP Wade Francis (2-1, 1.90 ERA) vs. RHP Juan Fernandez (3-1, 3.03 ERA)
Game 2 (Thursday, March 12 at 6:00 pm): RHP Jamal Johnson (3-0, 1.37 ERA) vs. Luis Rodriguez (2-0, 5.63 ERA)
Game 3 (Friday, March 13 at TBD): LHP Jesus Gonzalez (1-0, 6.94 ERA) vs. LHP Ismael Cordoba (3-2, 1.72 ERA)
Game 4 (Saturday, March 14 at TBD): RHP Esteban Johons (3-0, 3.26 ERA) vs RHP Diego Evans (3-1, 4.06 ERA)

Series History
The Bobcats lead the all-time Battle of Miami Gardens series lead, going 47-10. The last 10 games have been much closer though, with the Bobcats leading six games to four. These two teams split their season series with two wins each at Florida Memorial. 

St. Thomas Named NAIA Ball Team of the Week
On Wednesday evening, media outlet NAIA Ball named St. Thomas the Team of the Week. This follows last week's four-game sweep over 18th-ranked Concordia University Nebraska. The Bobcats were strong in the series, outscoring the Bulldogs 46 to 17.  The Bobcats hit .341 while allowing a 3.09 staff ERA. 

Keuri's Big Weekend
After struggling to start the season, Keuri Martinez has been a big factor in the Bobcats' recent success. The now everyday second baseman went 6-for-10 against Concordia, with a 2B, 3B, grand slam, and seven RBI. On the season, Martinez is hitting .355 with a .677 slugging percentage. Only seven games ago, he was hitting .067 on the season at a point during the Loyola series. 

Pitching's Strikeouts
Entering play today, the Bobcats rank second in the NAIA in total strikeouts, with 243. They are only two strikeouts behind Arizona Christian, who has pitched 26.2 more innings. The Bobcats lead the NAIA in strikeouts per nine innings, with 11.89. That is a 0.45 K/9 lead over the second place team. Juan Fernandez still leads the country in strikeouts individually, with 58. 

Scouting Florida Memorial
Florida Memorial, who enters Sun Conference play on a seven game winning streak, has had a good start to their season. Led by second year head coach Wilberto Ramos, the Lions picked up 13 wins in non-conference play. They will travel the half mile from 42nd Avenue to 37th Avenue for this series. 

The Lions are led offensively by Justin Martinez, who is hitting .373 with four doubles and five home runs. Armando Ramirez also has five home runs on the season. Pheron Charlton has stolen 15 bases on the year, while also having a .507 OBP. As a collective offensive unit, the Lions are hitting .275 and have averaged 8.58 runs per game. 

Starting pitching has been a strength this season. Game one starter, freshman LHP Wade Francis, has a 1.90 ERA in 23.2 innings. Jamal Johnson, who is starting the seven-inning game two of the series, leads the team in ERA at 1.37, while also having a .80 WHIP. Johnson leads the Lions in strikeouts with 29.