Miami Gardens, Fla. - Coming off a series split on the road against a top ten team, the St. Thomas University Baseball team returns to Paul Demie Mainieri Field to host the New College of Florida for the first time in four-game Sun Conference series from Thursday, April 2 to Saturday, April 4.
 
Game Details
Teams: New College of Florida (17-16, 3-9 Sun) at #13 St. Thomas University (21-13, 6-6 Sun)
Dates: Thursday, April 2 (6:00 pm), Friday, April 3 (3:00 pm and 6:00 pm), and Saturday, April 4 (1:00 pm)
Location: Paul Demie Mainieri Field | Miami Gardens, Fla. 
Media: Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
 
Probable Starters
Game 1 (Thursday, April 2 at 6:00 pm): RHP Ryan Swartz (5-3, 5.36 ERA) vs. LHP Ismael Cordoba (5-2, 1.40 ERA)
Game 2 (Friday, April 3 at 3:00 pm): LHP Owen McKinley (3-1, 5.63 ERA) vs. RHP Gabriel Rangel (3-3, 2.86 ERA)
Game 3 (Friday, April 3 at 6:00 pm): RHP Dalton Hill (1-4, 5.49 ERA) vs. RHP Juan Fernandez (5-2, 3.99 ERA)
Game 4 (Saturday, April 4 at 1:00 pm): TBD vs TBD
 
Series History
The Bobcats faced the Mighty Banyans for the first time last season in Bradenton, and the Bobcats won the series three games to one. Juan Fernandez gave up just one run in a 7-inning complete game last April against New College. 
 
Southeastern Series Recap
St. Thomas and Southeastern split the top-15 matchup last weekend in Lakeland. Daytan Biegel led the Bobcats' offensively, going 9-for-14 with three extra base hits. As a team, the Bobcats hit .345 on the series against one of the better pitching staffs in the country. The Bobcats were caught stealing 5 times last series.
 
On the mound, Juan Fernandez had one of his best starts of his Bobcats' career, throwing a 9-inning complete game. The two runs he allowed were both in the 9th inning. He struck out 10 batters in that game. Ismael Cordoba also had a strong start, throwing seven innings, allowing just two runs. Gabriel Rangel provided quality innings of relief as well. 
 
Scouting New College of Florida
The Mighty Banyans, coached by Eric Skoglund, who is in his first year as New College's head coach. They are in their third year as a program, and are in their second year in the Sun Conference. New College struggled in their first two Sun Conference series at Ave Maria and Webber International, but played well against a top-25 Keiser team in a series split. 
 
Offensively, New College is very scrappy. They do not strike out much, just 162 times in 229 innings. Fernando Espinal is their biggest power threat, as he is slugging .653 with four home runs. Brecken Fair, who is hitting .374, is a tough out. In conference play, the team is hitting .266. They have 75 stolen bases on the year. 
 
On the mound, they have a staff ERA of 6.67. In conference play, their ERA is 10.86. There are some bright spots for the Mighty Banyans on the mound, as Corbin Gilmore is coming off the Sun Conference Pitcher of the Week award. He allowed no earned runs in 5.2 innings.