Box Score Lafayette, La. (March 30, 2013) – The FIU Panthers (21-19, 4-7) were unable to overcome an early 6-0 deficit, falling to the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (22-11, 5-4 SBC), 7-5 on Saturday afternoon at Lamson Park.

UL wasted little time, scoring six runs off FIU starter Corinne Jenkins (11-5), who lasted just a third of an inning. The offensive outburst was capped off on a grand slam over the leftfield wall by Sara Corbello.

The Panthers got two of those runs back in the top of the fourth off the bat of Jessy Alfonso, who blasted a two-run home run to leftfield.

Louisiana's Sarah Draheim smacked a home run to left in the bottom of the fifth off Shelby Graves, giving the Ragin' Cajuns a 7-2 lead.

Alfonso connected on her second home run of the afternoon in the top of the sixth, bringing the score to 7-3.

Three batters later, with runners on first and second, an error by the Ragin' Cajuns' shortstop allowed Kayla Burri to score from second, putting the score at 7-4. Pinch-hitter Kennah Orr drew a walk to load the bases as Brie Rojas drew the team's second-straight walk to record the RBI and close the gap 7-5.

Mariah Dawson, who relieved Graves in the fifth, threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit to close out the afternoon in the circle for the Panthers. Unable to
overcome the two-run hole, FIU dropped its sixth-consecutive game, 7-5.

The Panthers will next travel to Monroe, La. next Saturday to play ULM in a doubleheader set to start at 4 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUSoftball) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSoftball) for all the latest FIU Softball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
The Blue and Gold will play 33 home games at the FIU Softball Complex. Season tickets for the 2013 season cost only $35 for public seating, $20 for FIU employees and alumni, or $70 for the Family Plan (2 Adults and 3 Youth). To purchase single-game or season tickets, call the FIU Ticket Office at (305) FIU-GAME, or online at FIUSPORTS.com.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses
(Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.