FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Keiser Seahawks rolled to another lopsided victory Monday, beating St. Thomas 13-5 at City of Palms Park to finish a dominant performance and claim the first Sun Conference Baseball Tournament title in program history.
Brad Myott went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, Keivan Berges added two more hits and an RBI and pitched four solid innings, and Kyle Keatts came back on two days' rest to throw five strong innings in relief to lead the Seahawks to their fourth straight win ithe tournament.
Berges set tournament records for hits (12) and runs (10), going 12-for-17 with three doubles, a homer, and five walks, and Goff tied the tournament record with 11 RBIs for the Seahawks, who outscored the opposition 57-19 in four games, scoring at least 13 runs in each contests.
The Seahawks jumped on St. Thomas starter Andrew Denis early, as the first five batters of the game reached base. Berges delivered an RBI single and Myott added a two-run single in the first for a 3-0 lead, and Keiser tacked on two runs in the second with the aid of two errors and a wild pitch for a 5-1 lead.
Jose Lopez pulled the Bobcats within 5-3 with a two-run blast to left in the third, and Steven Fischer's RBI single in the fourth cut it to one run.
Myott delivered again with a two-run double in the fourth, and Tyler Goff followed with an RBI single to stretch the lead to 8-4.
Keatts took it from there, coming on in relief just three days after throwing six scoreless frames in the Seahawks' tournament opener against Webber International. The junior right-hander went five innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits while striking out four.
The Seahawks tacked on five insurance runs in the seventh to break it open with Goff drawing a bases-loaded walk, Danny Arroyo delivering a two-run single, and Jesus Fuenmayor adding a run-scoring single.
Keiser earns an automatic berth in the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round, which will be played May 17-20 at nine sites with the winner of each five-team bracket advancing to the Avista-NAIA World Series.
All-Tournament Team
Keivan Berges, KU
Tyler Goff, KU
Brad Myott, KU
Kyle Keatts, KU
Cesar Ramirez, STU
Jose Gomez, STU
Josh Reinhart, USCB
Julio De Pena, USCB
Chris Mattison, SEU
Ramon Sanchez, Webber