Lions Face Tough Test At No. 4 St. Thomas University Tuesday

AT A GLANCE
FMU Lions (2-0) at No. 4 St. Thomas University (1-3)
When: Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Where: St. Thomas University, Miami Gardens, Fla. | Arena Name
First Pitch: 6 p.m.
Last Meeting: Jan. 28, 2020, Loss 3-9
Live Stream: Link
Live Stats: Link

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – After opening the 2021 season with a pair of road victories against HBCU rival Edward Waters College, Florida Memorial University's baseball team will face an even tougher challenge Tuesday when it faces off against neighborhood rival No. 4 St. Thomas University at Paul Demie Mainieri Field.

Tuesday night's game, the latest installment of the "Battle of Miami Gardens", will be a non-conference game. Though the Lions and Bobcats are both members of the Sun Conference, when the schedule calls for a mid-week single-game matchup – opposed to a three-game weekend series – it will not count towards the teams' conference record.

Florida Memorial (2-0) comes into Tuesday's game having built confidence from its performances in its first two games of the season. The Lions showed it can put the hurt on opposing pitchers, knocking around the Edward Waters hurlers for 15 runs – including 3 home runs. Then it followed up the 15-2 win with a hard-fought 2-1 victory that saw FMU's bullpen shutdown the Tigers' bats early and the defense come up outs in the later inning to seal the game.

Julio Creazzola led the Lions in the first game; hitting 2-for-4 with a home run, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Jacquel Perry and Axel Gomez also homered in the first game against Edward Waters and each finished 2-for-3 at the plate, while Gomez had a game-high 4 RBI and Perry had 2 RBI.

In facing St. Thomas University (1-3), the Lions will be taking on a team that is much better than what its record currently shows. The Bobcats earned a preseason No. 4 national ranking for good reason and two of their three losses this season came against other nationally-ranked opponents – No. 21 Bryan College (Tenn.) and No. 8 University Of The Cumberlands (Ky.) – while it also picked up a 7-6 win over No. 3 Georgia Gwinnett College.

Historically, the Bobcats have been a bane for Florida Memorial on the baseball diamond. St. Thomas owns the all-time series between the programs 35-2 – having won 34 straight games – and the Lions haven't toppled its cross-street rival since they earned consecutive victories in the 2009 season.

Expected Starting Pitchers:
Tuesday, Feb. 9
FMU: Not Available
STU: Not Available

Follow Florida Memorial University Athletics on social media
Instagram: @GoFMULions/@LionsFMUBaseball | Twitter: @GoFMULions/@BaseballFMU | YouTube: Official FMU Lions

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Players Mentioned

#2 Julio Creazzola: INF; 5' 9"; Junior

#7 Axel Gomez: INF; 6' 2"; Junior

#40 Jacquel Perry: 1B; 5' 11"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#2 Julio Creazzola
: 5' 9"; Junior
: INF

#7 Axel Gomez
: 6' 2"; Junior
: INF

#40 Jacquel Perry
: 5' 11"; Junior
: 1B

Florida Memorial University Athletics

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

#2 Julio Creazzola

#7 Axel Gomez

#40 Jacquel Perry

Players Mentioned

#2 Julio Creazzola

#7 Axel Gomez

#40 Jacquel Perry