MIAMI (Feb. 27, 2016) -- Freshman Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) tossed FIU's first softball no-hitter this season in the Panthers' 8-0 rout of Central Connecticut State Saturday afternoon. It was FIU's first game of day two of the Felsberg Invitational Tournament at FIU Softball Stadium. She hit a batter in the first, but she was erased when caught trying to steal second. The she then sent down 12 in a row before a sixth-inning error allowed a second runner. A fielder's choice allowed a third different Blue Devil on base to replace the original runner. Kugelmann faced the minimum plus one. She struck out a career-high six batters in the outing to improve her record to 2-0.FIU improved to 10-4 with the victory. CCSU fell to 1-4 after the loss.
 
The Panthers got a run in the first, then four in the fifth and three in the sixth to complete the win. Freshman leadoff hitter Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS) singled and scored the first run in the opening inning. She collected a game-high three hits for FIU.
 
Junior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) and sophomore shortstop A.J. Belans (Hollywood, Florida / American Heritage HS) had two RBI each in the victory. Texeira leads Conference USA with 23 RBI, while Belans is second on the team with 17.
 
CCSU pitcher Alex Casanas took the loss. In 3.1 innings, she gave up five hits and the first-inning run to drop to 0-2.
 
The Panthers face Delaware to complete day two of the Invitational.
 
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/.