MIAMI (March 8, 2015) – In the first of three nationally televised games for Conference USA this season, the FIU softball team (16-10, 1-2 C-USA) downed the Marshall Thundering Herd, 9-1, in five innings on Sunday afternoon from Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
 
Junior Corinne Jenkins (9-6) hurled her ninth complete game this season, surrendering just one run before settling down to retire seven of the final 10 batters she faced. She fanned two in five innings of work.
 
Sophomore Gabby Spallone tallied her third home run this season with a three-run shot in the first inning, for her seventh multi-RBI game this year. Sophomore Stephanie Texeira (2-for-3, 2 RBI) drove in two late-inning runs for her league-leading ninth double this season, while freshman Ashley Belans (2-for-2) and sophomore Ashley Leon (2-for-3, 1 RBI) also tallied two hits apiece.
 
The Herd made Jenkins labor in the first inning and took an early 1-0 lead before the righty settled down to pick up a crucial strikeout with two on and one away. Marshall's Kaitlyn Lucas singled up the middle on what looked to be an RBI base hit, but Spallone nailed the runner at the plate to keep it a one-run game.
 
FIU wasted no time chasing the Herd's starter Jordan Dixon from the game, as the Panthers plated four runs in the bottom of the first before registering an out. With the first two in FIU's lineup reaching, Texeira sent an RBI single back up the middle to drive home senior Rebekah Sanchez from second base. Spallone followed with a no-doubter over the wall for her third home run this season.
 
Belans continued to solidify the left side of the Panthers' infield, as the shortstop turned an unassisted double play off a caught line drive to pick up a quick two outs in the second inning. She turned around to lead off the bottom of the frame with a sharp single to third and eventually stood at third following two sacrifice hits and scored off a wild pitch by Brittany Fowler for FIU's fifth run of the game.
 
Jenkins limited Marshall's chances in the third and fourth innings, allowing just two from the Herd to reach base. With two outs in the fourth inning, junior Aleima Lopez threw out her seventh runner trying to steal to end the frame. Texeira padded the Panthers' lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-RBI double to right-center field, boosting her league-leading total in that category to nine.
 
With Marshall looking to cut the deficit in the top of the fifth, senior Krystal Garcia flashed some leather at third base with an inning-ending double-play, the team's second of the game.
 
The Panthers hit the road for a three-game set versus the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders next weekend, beginning on Saturday, March 14 at 3 p.m. ET.
 
#####
 
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/.