MIAMI (March 27, 2015) – The FIU softball team (20-15, 3-6 C-USA) resumes Conference USA action this weekend, staying in-state for a crucial three-game set in Boca Raton against the league's top team, Florida Atlantic.
 
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Last Time Out
The Panthers took a brief pause from their league slate to host the No. 18/19 UCF Knights on Wednesday night. Despite a late-inning rally, FIU fell, 8-3. FIU rallied in the seventh, as Shelby Graves hustled to beat out a single, and FIU eventually put two in scoring position for Ashley Leon, who broke the shutout with an RBI single to right field. A walk to Rebekah Sanchez eventually loaded the bases for Stephanie Texeira, who drove in two more off a single to center field.
 
Game Day Quick Hitters
FIU makes the trip to Boca Raton for the second-straight year. The Panthers and Owls squared off on FOX Sports last season, with Florida Atlantic just squeaking by FIU, 1-0, off a walk-off in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
The Panthers won the 2014 series, 2-1, winning the final two games of the series, while holding the Owls to three runs.
 
Tex. vs. the Nation
Stephanie Texeira finds herself in the nation's top 10 in two different categories, highlighted by her No. 3 ranking in on-base percentage (.664), which also first in Conference USA, in addition to having the 12th-best batting average in all of NCAA Div. I softball (.500), which is good for second in the league. She finds herself ranked fourth in walks, averaging just over one walk-per-game, the most of any player in the conference.

Blank Space
With her complete-game shutout victory over UMass Lowell on March 17, Corinne Jenkins moved further up in the program's shutout list, as she now has 10 career shutout victories, which ties her for fourth all-time in Panther softball history.

Miss Reliable
Stephanie Texeira reached base in the first 33 games the Panthers played in this season, the longest such streak of her young career. Dating back to last season, where she had a then-career long 22-game reached base streak, she touched first in 55 of FIU's last 57 competitions.

Double Down
Gabby Spallone leads Conference USA in doubles with 11, while the Panthers have three players occupying the top five spots in the league, as Stephanie Texeira (10) and Ashley Belans (9) also make appearances in the category.

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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/.