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Box Score 2 MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – The Fire found the late-game magic once again on Friday night. Alfonso Villalobos ripped a two-run triple in the eighth inning to push Southeastern University ahead for good, lifting the Fire to a 15-12 victory over St. Thomas University and earning a baseball split after a 6-1 loss earlier in the day.
After leading 7-0 in the third and 9-3 in the fifth, SEU needed a late surge to reclaim control. Trailing 12-10 entering the eighth, Jon Paul Pennella and Charlie Collins reached base on a fielder's choice and a walk. Connor Hicks drove in a run with an RBI double, setting the stage for Villalobos, who laced a two-run triple down the right field line. Myles White capped the rally with a two-run double to give the Fire a 15-12 lead. After getting the Fire out of a messy seventh, Austin Peddycourt earned the win, while Cole Jones pitched the eighth and ninth for the two-inning save.
In the opener, St. Thomas scored in each of the first four innings and never trailed, limiting SEU to just three hits. The Fire's only run came on a Myles White RBI groundout. The win snapped the Bobcats nine-game losing streak against the Fire, dating back to the 2023 season.
Across both games, James Strom hit for the cycle — singling in game one before going 3-for-5 with a double, triple, home run, scoring four runs and driving in three in game two. Hicks was the only other Fire player to record hits in both contests, singling in the opener and adding a double and single in game two with two runs scored and two RBI.
Villalobos and White each drove in three runs in game two. Villalobos finished with a triple, single, two runs scored, and three RBI, while White added a double, single, one run scored, and three RBI of his own. Pennella and Collins each had two hits and combined for four runs.
John Rossi hit an inside-the-park home run in game two, and David Castillo contributed a run-scoring double. Peter Tassler added a single to round out the Fire's offensive effort.
Hicks delivered a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, and Strom launched a leadoff solo home run in the fifth to help SEU build a 9-3 lead before St. Thomas surged back with runs in five consecutive innings to grab a 12-10 advantage.
With the late win, SEU (38-11) secured at least a split of the four-game series and improved to 17-10 in Sun Conference play, while St. Thomas dropped to 27-22 overall and 13-14 in league action.
The Fire and Bobcats will wrap up the four-game series on Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
