Final Stats (PDF)

MIAMI (March 29, 2014) – The FIU softball team (21-12, 4-3 C-USA) found itself in an offensive battle with the East Carolina Pirates in game one of Saturday's doubleheader at Felsberg Field from FIU Softball Field. The Panthers took the game, 11-9, before a weather delay in the top of the fourth of game two ended the night early. Game two will resume at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow, while Sunday's regularly scheduled noon game will now take place shortly after the conclusion of game two.

Game One: FIU 11, ECU 9

Junior Shelby Graves (9-6) picked up her ninth win of the season, replacing sophomore Corinne Jenkins after two innings of work.  Graves picked up three strikeouts and gave up four runs on six hits, while Jenkins punched out four and gave up five runs on five hits.

Senior Rachel Slowik had a career-high four RBI day, going 2-for-3, scoring three times and hitting her second home run in as many games. Sophomore Aleima Lopez also had a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 and scoring a run. Senior Bre Kaye swiped her fourteenth bag of the season, moving her into a fourth place tie within the conference. The Panthers tallied five doubles in the game, two shy of the program record and the most in a single game since February 19, 2010 when FIU also recorded five against Bethune-Cookman.

ECU plated two runs in the first following a two-out error. Jenkins then worked around two in scoring position in the top of the second and punched out three batters looking to eliminate the threat.

FIU answered with five runs in the bottom of the second, all of which came with two outs. Freshman Gabby Spallone led off with a double to right-center field. With two down, Slowik took the first pitch she saw to right field, plating two runs. Kaye was then able to drive Slowik home off a double that shot off the third base bag. Freshman Stephanie Texeira also doubled, scoring junior Rebekah Sanchez, who drew a walk two batters before Texeira.

East Carolina responded in the top of the third with a five-run inning of its own, but a three-run bottom of the third quickly put the Panthers back on top, 8-7. The bases were loaded with two outs for Sanchez, who plated all three runs of the inning off a two-RBI single back up the middle. The final run scored on a throwing error from center field that found its way to the backstop.

Slowik's third and fourth RBI came in the bottom of the fifth when the Bradenton, Fla., native drilled her second home of the season. It was a two-run shot that scored redshirt freshman Dani Mowry, who hit a pinch hit doubled on a 3-2 count the at-bat before.  Junior Krystal Garcia got involved in the action when her RBI double gave FIU its eleventh run of the game.

Game Two: FIU 2, ECU – Suspended Top 4, 0 outs

Jenkins got the nod in game two and was locked in, shutting down the Pirates 1-2-3 in the first. She picked up three strikeouts in the third and fourth innings and stranded three runners between those two innings.

Texeira drilled her team-leading sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the first. It was a two-run shot and her fourth home run of the season with at least one runner on base. The game went into a weather delay in the top of the fourth inning with zero outs. The game will resume tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Game three will follow shortly after.

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)
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU 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 bachelor's, master's 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. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.