FORT MYERS, Fla. - The St. Thomas Bobcats rode a massive early offensive surge to power past the Warner Royals, 17–9, in a high-scoring contest that featured momentum swings but ultimately belonged to STU.
Warner struck first in the opening inning, capitalizing on a defensive miscue to take a 1–0 lead, and added another in the second on an RBI walk to go up 2–0. But that advantage quickly vanished as the Bobcats erupted in the bottom half of the second inning.
St. Thomas sent a barrage of hitters to the plate, flipping the game on its head with a five-run frame. Keuri Martinez got the rally started with an RBI hit-by-pitch, followed by a bases-loaded walk from Luis Suarez to tie the game. A wild pitch plated the go-ahead run, and Erick Ballenilla and Daytan Biegel delivered RBI singles to cap the inning and give STU a 5–2 lead.
The Bobcats kept the pressure on in the third, adding three more runs behind RBI singles from Martinez, Suarez, and Ballenilla to stretch the lead to 8–2. Their offense showed no signs of slowing down in the fifth inning, where a Warner error opened the door for another big rally. Biegel highlighted the inning with a two-run double, Alan Nava added an RBI double, and Edwin Toribio launched a two-run homer to left-center, pushing the score to 14–2.
Warner attempted to claw back into the game late, scoring three runs in the sixth and adding three more in the seventh, with extra-base hits along with a pair of sacrifice flies. The Royals trimmed the deficit to 14–8, but St. Thomas quickly responded.
Freidy De La Rosa drove in a run in the seventh to halt Warner's momentum, and the Bobcats tacked on two more in the eighth on a wild pitch and a passed ball to extend their lead to 17–8. The Royals added a final run in the ninth, but the outcome was never in doubt.
St. Thomas finished with 17 runs on a relentless offensive performance, highlighted by multi-hit games from several players. Ballenilla, Suarez, Martinez, and Biegel all played key roles in the offensive explosion, while Toribio's home run provided a late exclamation point.
Despite Warner's late push, the early dominance from the Bobcats proved too much to overcome as St. Thomas secured the convincing 17–9 victory.
-STU-
