MIAMI (Feb ,14, 2016) -- FIU softball got a pair of wins Sunday to build its winning streak to four games after a 9-2 win over LIU Brooklyn and a 9-1 victory over Valparaiso to conclude the Juiceblendz FIU Invitational at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium. After its opening night loss to No. 10 Florida State, the Panthers finish the weekend at 4-1 overall.

LIU Brooklyn is 3-2, while Valpo finished 0-5 at the tournament.

"I think we are playing with a lot of good energy right now," said FIU Head Coach Gator Rebhan. "The combination of the freshmen we brought in and the depth of our pitching staff will really help us this year. We will have tough choices to make when it comes to the starting lineup, because we have good depth. I think it's a good thing to have good players and tough choices and we'll let the competition in practice this week decide who plays in the games next weekend."

FIU 9, LIU Brooklyn 2
Designated player Dani Mowry (Cocoa, Florida / Space Coast HS) was perfect at the plate with four hits, while junior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) and sophomore Ashley Belans (Hollywood, Florida / American Heritage) drove in two runs each in the 9-2 win to start FIU's day.

Mowry got the scoring started for FIU in the first by driving in left fielder Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch), who had earlier singled to reach base. 

The Panthers tacked on two more runs in the second inning. Schoff drove in a run with a bases-loaded single through the middle, which was later followed by a Texeira single rocketed off the pitcher's bare hand for another RBI to give FIU the 3-0 lead.

That lead doubled in the third with three more Panthers runs on five hits.

After getting three scoreless innings from sophomore Rachel Dwyer (Tampa, Florida / Chamberlain), the Blackbirds broke through with a run in the fourth and an unearned run in the fifth. 

FIU added three insurance runs in the sixth to close out the game. After a groundout, Texeira took the first pitch she saw in her fourth at bat, sending it over the fence in right center for her third homer of the tournament. Belans later doubled down the left-field line to plate the last two runs for her third hit of the day.

Dwyer got the win (1-0). She tossed 4.2 innings, scattering six hits and two walks and was charged with one earned run. Erynn Sobieski took the loss for LIU Brooklyn (1-1).

FIU 9, Valparaiso 1
Freshman Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) made the most of her first-career appearance, striking out five in all five innings as the Panthers quickly dispatched Valparaiso to end the tournament. The Panthers scored their ninth and decisive run with two outs in the bottom of the fifth to win by the run rule to make the game official. 

FIU scored four in both of the first two innings to grab an early lead. Texeira drove in two more runs for the day with a double over the head of the left fielder and advanced to third on the throw home. She scored when Gabby Spallone (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) singled up the middle, all coming without an out recorded. Freshman designated player Lauren Williams (Thonotosassa, Florida / Chamberlain HS) later drove in Mowry for the fourth run and the team sent all nine in the batting order to the plate in the first.

The second inning nearly mirrored the first for FIU, with eight batters coming to the plate. Junior second baseman Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Auburn University) doubled and advanced to third on a throwing error, scoring on an RBI infield single by Schoff, the next batter of the inning. Belans drove in a run with an RBI single and Williams plated two more Panthers with a double down the left-field line to make the score 8-0 Panthers.

Valpo answered with its lone run of the day in the top of the third on two hits, the only hits Kugelmann allowed in her five innings.

The run to end the game came after a Mowry walk got the inning started and she was driven in by Aleima Lopez on a single down the left-field line.

Kugelmann got the win (1-0). She walked two and allowed just the two hits. Valpo hurler Ashlyn Montgomery took the loss (0-1) after allowing the eight runs in the first 1.2 innings. Two of the runs scored against her were unearned. She walked two and gave up eight hits.

The Panthers will turn around and host the Panther Invitational next weekend. Delaware, Holy Cross and Indiana will visit Miami for the three-day event. Delaware and Holy Cross start the weekend with an 11 a.m. contest Friday morning. The Panthers will play at 4:30 p.m. against Holy Cross before taking on Indiana in the nightcap, with the first pitch scheduled in that one for 7 p.m.

For ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.

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/.