LAKELAND, Fla. — No. 10 Southeastern fell behind early and was unable to recover on Thursday night, dropping the opener of a four-game Sun Conference series to No. 11 St. Thomas, 11–5, at Ted A. Broer Stadium.
St. Thomas wasted little time setting the tone, opening the game with a first-inning home run before adding three more runs in the second to take a 4–0 lead. The Bobcats continued to apply pressure throughout the night, tallying 18 hits and scoring in five different innings to keep Southeastern on its heels.
The Fire answered in the second inning, as
Braden Bartholomae doubled and later came around to score on a fielder's choice to cut the deficit to 4–1. However, St. Thomas responded with additional runs in the third and fifth innings, extending the lead to 7–1 midway through the game.
Bartholomae provided the biggest spark for Southeastern offensively, finishing 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, and three RBIs. His solo shot in the seventh inning snapped a stretch of six consecutive scoreless innings for the Fire and made it 11–2 at the time.
Southeastern showed late life in the eighth, plating three runs to trim the margin to 11–5. The rally was aided by walks and wild pitches, along with an RBI fielder's choice from Bartholomae and a sacrifice fly from
Paul Wittmann. Despite the push, the Fire were unable to continue the momentum into the ninth.
Blake Sandvik (5–1) took the loss for Southeastern, allowing five runs (four earned) over three innings. The Fire bullpen combined to surrender six additional runs, while St. Thomas starter Ismael Cordoba earned the win with seven strong innings, allowing just two runs.
Southeastern (23–8, 7–2 Sun) will look to bounce back on Friday as the series continues with a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. at Ted A. Broer Stadium.
