MIAMI (March 17, 2015) – The FIU softball team (20-11, 3-3 C-USA) swept both ends of a double header on Tuesday, topping the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 9-1, in six innings before finishing off with a 3-0 victory.

Sophomore Rachel Dwyer (2-0) tossed her second complete game this season and struck out a career-high four batters in the effort. In six innings, she allowed just three hits and one run. The Panthers' offense exploded in the third inning with seven runs, highlighted by senior Krystal Garcia's home run and junior Aleima Lopez' two-RBI double. Four for FIU recorded two hits, as sophomore Stephanie Texeira (2-for-3), junior Dominique Grossman(2-for-3), freshman Ashley Belans (2-for-3) and Lopez (2-for-4 combined for five of the Panthers' nine runs scored.
 

Making her first collegiate start, sophomore Sammi Green started a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play to get the Panthers out of the top of the first. Dwyer opened the game with a swinging striekout. Texeira came within inches of a home run in the bottom of the frame but settled for a one-out, stand-up triple instead, although the Panthers would be unable to bring her home.
 

FIU made a pair of great defensive plays to cap off a 1-2-3 second inning, as Dywer snagged a sharp line drive going back up the middle, while Grossman brought down a fly ball steps before running into the wall in right field.
 

Back-to-back singles by Beans and senior Rebekah Sanchez set the Panthers up nicely in the third inning. After Texeira walked for the 18^th time this month to load the bases, sophomore Gabby Spallone broke a scoreless game with an RBI single to center field. Lopez added two more runs on a double to left-center, while Garcia broke her home run drought with a two-run shot over the center field wall. In all, the Panthers plated seven runs on eight hits and sent 12 batters to the plate.
 

The River Hawks got one run back in the top of the fourth but left three runners stranded as the inning came to a close. Texeira picked up a crucial second out on a putout at home plate and brought the inning to a close on a caught ball in foul territory.
 

Junior Corinne Jenkins (12-5) hurled all seven innings, tallying a season-high nine strikeouts in her second shutout this season, which moves her into a tied for fourth all-time in FIU history.
 

She cruised through the first inning, picking up two strikeouts to open the game and didn't surrender a hit until Alisha Welch led off the third with a base hit to right field. With two in scoring position, Jenkins picked up a much needed strikeout for the inning's first out before Texeira fielded a failed bunt and turned two to end the frame, holding the River Hawks scoreless.
 

FIU used some non-traditional methods to score the game's first run in the third inning. With one away, Belans roped a double down the left field line and advanced to third on Sanchez' sacrifice hit.  After intentionally walking Texeira to put runners on the corners, she was able to hold herself in a pickle just long enough for Belans to sneak across the plate.
 

Jenkins continued to tally strikeouts and fanned another two in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded in the fifth inning and the go-ahead run at second base, the Panthers' ace was able to for an inning-ending strikeout, stranding all three base runners and preserving the shutout.
 

Lopez provided her pitcher an insurance run in the fifth inning off a bases loaded single through the left side, upping the score to 2-0, while freshman Hailey Tillapaugh extend the lead to 3-0 in the sixth inning.
 

The Panthers return to Conference USA action on Saturday versus North Texas. First pitch from Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium is slated for 4 p.m. ET.
 

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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 the FIU Football Stadium.
 

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers 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 contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.