MIAMI (Feb. 18, 2016) -- FIU softball rides a four-game win streak into its second weekend tournament, the Panther Invitational, starting at 11 a.m. Friday at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium. The 10-game weekend will see the Panthers playing five more games. FIU starts its weekend at 4:30 p.m. against Holy Cross.
 
The Panthers welcome Delaware and Indiana as the other two teams playing this weekend. FIU takes on Indiana in the nightcap Friday, then hosts Delaware at 4 p.m. Saturday and Holy Cross at 6:30 p.m. that evening. Sunday will feature just two games, with the Panthers playing in game two of the day against Delaware at 12:30 p.m.
 
Delaware was unable to play last weekend due to weather and Holy Cross is beginning its 2016 season this weekend as well.
 
The Panthers' win streak matches the longest of their 2015 campaign. As a team, the Panthers batted .413, allowing their opponents to hit for a .263 average in five games last weekend. Scoring seven runs per game for the weekend, the Panthers have an average of a run or more in five different innings in the season line score. Junior Stephanie Texeira is tied for the Conference USA lead with three homers, all hit in the five games last weekend. The 2016 Preseason All-Conference USA selection also added two doubles and drove in seven runs in the tournament. Her three home runs is well past her season pace from a year ago, when she hit eight. Five Panthers averaged a hit or more per game during the weekend, including an outstanding debut from freshman Jackie Schoff, who was 7-for-14 in her opening weekend. She was second on the team with five runs scored. Four different FIU pitchers recorded a win over the weekend, matching last year's total for number of pitchers securing a victory. Both freshman hurlers, Abby Summers and Megan Kugelmann, got wins in their first-career starts. FIU hosts tournaments in the first three weekends of the season before finishing the tournament circuit in Gainesville, at current No. 1 Florida in the first weekend of March.
 
Delaware, which went 30-23 last season and finished seventh in the CAA with a 6-14 league record, returns 17 letterwinners and seven starters for the 2016 season. The Blue Hens set school records for runs scored, RBI, doubles and home runs a year ago, while their .304 team batting average was the program's highest since 1977. Delaware will be paced by sophomore Mariah Kondravy, who batted .380 during her rookie year while setting UD single season marks with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. Classmate Leanna Gearhart will return to her shortstop position after she hit .360 a year ago and led the nation with 11 triples. Lisa Stacevicz batted a team-high .392 with 13 doubles last season, while starters Shelby Jones, Giovanna Kolofer and Danielle Wissinger are also back for the Blue Hens. Junior Carolyn Szymanski returns to lead the UD pitching staff after she went 17-13 with a 2.93 earned run average in 2015, while Kiersten Coffman and Jordan Cargile also are expected to see significant work in the circle.
 
Holy Cross finished its 2015 campaign with an 11-17 record and a 9-9 mark in the Patriot League. The Crusaders finished in a three-way tie for third place, but narrowly missed the conference postseason on the tie-breaker. Holy Cross returns 15 players from last season, and welcomes four freshmen to the squad. The Crusaders were selected to finish sixth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Senior outfielder Emily Jarvis and sophomore first basemen Taylor Moss were named to the preseason All-Patriot League team. Both student-athletes were named first team all-conference last season.
 
In the season-opening Kajikawa Classic last weekend, Indiana went 2-3, picking up wins against Utah State and Georgia State. In the victory against Georgia State, freshman pitcher Tara Trainer threw 10 strikeouts, the most for an Indiana pitcher since April 2014. Freshman Josie Wood and sophomore Emily Kirk also both turned in solid performances over the weekend in the circle. On offense, the Hoosiers return the majority of the 2015 bats that set the single-season IU record for home runs (51) and finished second in program history in runs scored (282), RBI (252) and walks (193).
 
Check out the Panther Invitational Tournament Central Page at FIUSports.com for updates throughout the weekend.
 
Fans will be able to park in the reserved spaces of Lot 10. If there is an overflow, the parking attendant will let fans know where to find additional parking. Should a team coming in vans get here after all spaces have been taken, they can drop off their athletes and then park at Lot 7. We will be able to bring coaches that park in Lot 7 back to the softball stadium on a golf cart.  Please call me at 417-872-9682 if you need my assistance with parking on any day. 
 
For admission, tickets are $10 for a day pass. You may purchase tickets at the stadium entrance.
 
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/.