MIAMI (April 10, 2016) -- FIU turned a pair of double plays and kept No. 24 Florida Atlantic scoreless through five innings, but the Panthers were swept in the weekend softball series after a score of 4-0 in the Sunday finale at Felsberg Field and FIU Softball Stadium in Conference USA action. The loss was just the second time the Panthers were shutout in a game this year, dropping FIU to 21-20 overall, 7-8 in Conference USA. The Owls improve to 33-7 overall, 10-2 and in first place in conference.
 
The Panthers got four hits and a walk against the league's top pitcher, Kylee Hanson, but could not score against her in the contest. Junior first baseman Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) collected two of the Panthers' hits, including a double off the top of the fence in right field. She leads FIU with a .434 batting average and is second on the team with eight doubles.
 
All four runs came in the sixth inning, on one hit, two walks and two FIU errors. FIU starter Abby Summers (Weston, Missouri) was tagged for three runs that inning, two of them earned. She tossed 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits and two walks. She struck out three, but got the loss and falls to 7-6.
 
The Panthers helped out Summers with a pair of nifty double plays, both involving second baseman Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Auburn University / Gulliver Prep). She started the first double play in the third on a bloop that she flipped to second to double off a runner. The second was started at third and relayed onto first through her to end the fourth inning. She also covered first on a bunt and got spun around on a grazing collision at the bag to aid in the defensive effort. She is second on the team with 71 assists and third with 126 putouts in the field.
 
Hanson got her second win of the weekend and improved to 17-3 with her 10^th shutout of 2016. She allowed four hits and a walk for the day, striking out five Panthers.
 
FIU will play its last midweek action on Wednesday, with a 2 p.m. doubleheader in Daytona Beach against Bethune-Cookman.

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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/.