DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - St. Thomas opened the first round of the NAIA Tournament against Union (Ky.) Tuesday.  The Bobcats surrendered the deciding run in the bottom of the ninth inning and fell 6-5.

The game was locked at 0-0 through two innings, but Union put 5 runs together in the bottom of the third and held the 5-0 advantage heading into the fifth.  St. Thomas added 4 runs of their own in the top of the fifth to narrow the margin. The Bobcats took advantage of several Union errors to put men on and convert those base runners into runs scored.  STU leveled the game with a Robert Rodriguez single to left field, scoring Kelvin Colon.

St. Thomas' pitching held strong until Union took the decision with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Ali Salazar was credited with the loss for one and two-thirds pitched.

Rodriguez, Victor Madrazo, Nestor Rincon, and Alvaro Bastos each recorded 2 hits, while Bastos and Rodriguez recorded the STU's 4 RBIs.

The Bobcats will get another opportunity to advance tomorrow as they face Faulkner at 10 AM.