HUNTINGTON, W.V. (May 1, 2016) -- Junior Gabby Spallone (Miami, Florida / Palmetto HS) tied her career high with four RBI over 20 hours and Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) hit her 13^th home run of the season as FIU came from behind to defeat Marshall 6-4 Sunday morning at Dot Hicks Field in Conference USA action. The win was only the second for the team when trailing after five innings this season.
 
FIU is now 26-25, improving the conference record to 9-11. Marshall falls to 26-24, 10-10 in the league.
 
After waiting three hours to start the second game of the Saturday doubleheader due to rain in Huntington, West Virginia, the Panthers led 2-0 until giving up four runs in the fifth when the umpires halted the game due to darkness. The game was resumed at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, and there was another delay for rain of almost an hour before the last inning could be played and the Panthers' offense came alive for the win.

The Panthers got their first lead in the series on Saturday after a one-out double from junior second baseman Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep / Auburn University). Leon got to third on a flyout and scored on a two-out, RBI single in the infield from Spallone for the 1-0 lead.

The Herd took that lead away with an unearned run in the bottom of the first frame. A one-out bunt single turned into a run for the next batter when the runner on first, stole second and got all the way home on a pair of Panthers throwing errors to knot the game at one-all.
 
Texeira sent a 1-1 pitch out to right field with two outs in the third. The homer set a new personal-best season for her after hitting 12 in 2014. For her career, it is home run number 32, just one away from tying the FIU career mark.
 
Three hits and a critical Panther error allowed two unearned runs in the fifth to give Marshall the 4-2 lead before the umpires halted the game due to darkness.
 
Once play resumed on Sunday morning, Spallone doubled home Texeira in the top of the sixth and designated player Aleima Lopez (Deltona, Florida / Deltona HS) singled home Spallone as FIU tied the game, 4-4.
 
Spallone doubled with two outs in the top of the seventh to bring in the game-winning pair of runs and the Herd left the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh to end the game.
 
FIU starter Abby Summers (Weston, Missouri) tossed her fifth complete game of the season, scattering seven hits across the two days. She walked a season-high four and tied her career high with six strikeouts. She stranded eight Marshall runners in the game.
 
The two teams will turn around and finish the series Sunday at noon.

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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/.