AUBURNDALE, Fla. -- Kevin Moreno's fifth-inning grand slam propelled No. 8-ranked St. Thomas University to a 7-2 victory over the No. 5-ranked Bellevue University baseball team in the middle game of a three-game series on Sunday evening.
With the win, St. Thomas secures the series victory and improves to 10-7 overall, while Bellevue sees their record slide to 7-4 on the season.
Kevin Moreno broke open a 1-0 game with a two-out grand slam in the home half of the fifth to give STU a 5-0 lead.
Easton Brinton got the start for Bellevue, and Richard Sanchez toed the mound for the Bobcats, but neither factored into the decision. In the bottom of the third, the game underwent a weather delay, with both teams changing pitchers when play resumed.
Rey Hernandez put St. Thomas on the board first with a sac fly in the bottom of the fourth to plate Kendry Noriega who had drawn a walk to open the inning.
Arturo Ormaza (1-1) earned the win for St. Thomas. He went 2.2 innings after the delay, allowing a pair of runs while striking out six. The St. Thomas pitching staff combined to strike out 15 Bruin hitters on the evening.
Tradd Richardson's infield single was BU's lone hit until Drew Staley led off the sixth with a base knock to right. The Bruins scratched across a pair of runs later in the frame when Logan Grant delivered a two-run single to center, making it 5-2. That prompted a pitching change for St. Thomas that promptly saw Jake Lacey and Grant execute a double steal to put runners on second and third with two out, but Danny Iglesias escaped damage with a punch out.
St. Thomas tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth on a sac fly from Omar Baldo, and an RBI single off the bat of Joey Thompson.
Mathieu Sirois' seventh-inning single accounted for the fourth and final hit for BU.
Nathan Sprenger (0-1), making his first appearance on the hill, took the loss for the Bruins.
Bellevue looks to avoid the sweep tomorrow as the Bruins and Bobcats wrap up their three-game set with an 8 a.m. first pitch.
