Box Score MIAMI (March 13, 2016) -- FIU sophomore shortstop A.J. Belans (Hollywood, Florida / American Heritage) hit a pair of solo home runs and drove in three runs to lead the Panthers softball squad over the visiting Charlotte 49ers 4-2 Sunday in Conference USA action from Felsberg Field at the FIU Softball Stadium. The win gave FIU the weekend sweep of the 49ers in the opening weekend of league play.
 
FIU is now 17-10 overall, 3-0 in conference games. Charlotte, which was receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA national poll this week, is 16-7, 0-3 in C-USA.
 
It is FIU's first 3-0 league start since 2011.
 
It was second time this season that Belans hit two homers in a game, as she belted two against Holy Cross on February 20 at home. Her three RBI were the second-most this season, two away from the five she collected in that Holy Cross contest. The three hits matcher her season high, the fifth time this season she has that many hits, but the first since that February 20^th game.
 
"She's a great pitcher" said Belans of Charlotte starter and Preseason All-Conference selection Lexi Betancourt, after the game. "When I got ahead in the count, I was just telling myself to look for one spot in my at-bat, and it helped that she threw it there. Our pitching is on point right now and we work really hard as a defense to help them out. I'm just happy that I was able to help the team win today."
 
The Panthers scored first with two runs in the second inning against Betancourt. A one-out double that bounced over the third base bag by second baseman Dani Mowry (Cocoa, Florida / Space Coast HS) put the Panthers in scoring position for the first time in the game. After a walk, Belans drove in Mowry from second with a single through the middle. A throwing error allowed runners to move up to second and third, setting up an RBI single by first baseman Deven Kennedy (Montgomery, Alabama) for the second run.
 
The 49ers tied the game with one swing in the top of the third. With two outs, the 49ers drew a baserunner via a hit by pitch. Shortstop Haley Pace sent the first pitch of her two-out at-bat over the fence in left center to tie the game.
 
With the count 3-1 to leadoff the fourth, Belans broke the tie with her first homer, out to left center. Her second round-tripper came on a 2-2 pitch with one out to left to complete the scoring.
 
"We have a lot of kids on the team that can step up and play," said FIU Head Coach Gator Rebhan. "We are more athletic this year and have a lot more depth, which was a problem for us last year, but that will help us in the long run."
 
After getting the win in game one of the doubleheader yesterday, starting pitcher Corinne Jenkins (Sarasota, Florida / Riverview) got the win on Sunday. In five innings, she allowed six hits and one walk, striking out five to level off her record to 4-4.
 
After collecting a shutout in game two last night, freshman hurler Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) got the first save of her career. She inherited a runner when she entered the game in sixth and got a groundout on a sacrifice and struck out the next three batters. She allowed two hits in two innings, with no walks.
 
Betancourt took her second loss of the series and just her fourth of the season (10-4). The Panthers touched her up with seven hits and three walks in six innings. She struck out five batters.
 
FIU will remain home for a Tuesday doubleheader against Rutgers Tuesday evening, with game one starting at 5 p.m.
 
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/.