MIAMI (April 1, 2015) – In a battle  of 2015 pre-season Conference USA favorites, the FIU softball team (22-16, 5-7 C-USA) and the (RV) UAB Blazers will meet for the second time in series history, while it'll be the first time the Blazers come to Miami. First pitch of the three-game set will be Thursday at 6 p.m., while a double header on Friday gets underway at 5 p.m.
 
Stay Connected
For those unable to attend this week's series, FIUSports.com will be streaming all three contests – weather permitting – in addition to providing livestats. Fans are also encouraged to follow the action on Twitter.
 
Stream: Click here
Livestats: Gametracker and StatBroadcast
Twitter: Click here
 
Last Time Out
FIU strung together dominant pitching with timely hitting over the weekend, as the Panthers handed the (RV) Florida Atlantic Owls its first series loss of the 2015 conference season.
 
Facing the league's top team, FIU relied heavily on ace Corinne Jenkins' arm to notch two crucial league victories, winning the series opener, 4-2, before securing the rubber match with a 3-0 blanking of Florida Atlantic. It's the first time in C-USA play that the Owls have been on the receiving end of a shutout.
 
Krystal Garcia provided bases-clearing doubles in both of the Panthers' victories.
 
Tex. vs. the Nation
Stephanie Texeira finds herself in the nation's top 15 in three different categories, highlighted by her No. 6 ranking in on-base percentage (.625), which also first in Conference USA, in addition to having the 12th-best batting average in all of NCAA Div. I softball (.458), which is good for third in the league. She finds herself ranked seventh in walks, averaging just over one walk-per-game, the most in her conference.
 
Double Down
Gabby Spallone leads Conference USA in doubles with 12, while the Panthers have three players occupying the top five spots in the league, as Stephanie Texeira (10) and Ashley Belans (9) are tied for second.
 
Blank Space
With her complete-game shutout victory over (RV) Florida Atlantic on March 29, Corinne Jenkins moved further up in the program's shutout list, as she now has 11 career shutout victories, which places her fourth all-time in Panther softball history.
 
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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/.