MIAMI (March 18, 2017) -- FIU senior second baseman Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) pushed a walkoff single through the left side of the infield in the seventh as the Panthers tied their school record with their 11^th-straight victory to sweep a Conference USA doubleheader from visiting North Texas, 2-1, in the nightcap Saturday at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
 
After defeating NT 8-3 in the opener, the Panthers came back to tie the game in the sixth and win it in the last at bat to push their overall record to 25-6, and a 2-0 start in league play. North Texas fell to 14-12 overall, 3-2 in C-USA.
 
The game started with a leadoff homer from NT's top hitter, Kelli Schkade, on a full-count offering from FIU sophomore starting pitcher Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS).
 
After that point, both teams' pitching and defense did enough to post 10-straight scoreless half-innings, until the Panthers got the run to tie in the sixth.
 
In that frame, a leadoff double by senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) turned into three bases on an outfield error. After a hit batter, a strikeout and a stolen base, freshman shortstop Jessica Rivera (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) grounded out to short, resulting in the RBI as Texeira scored.
 
The Mean Green got a leadoff single and a walk with one out, which ended the day for Kugelmann. She allowed just the one earned run in 6.1 innings, scattering four hits and a season-high six walks. She tied her season high with five strikeouts in the no-decision.
 
Sophomore Abby Summers (Weston, Missouri) came in and got a strikeout and a groundout to end the threat.
 
After junior outfielder Araceli Peralta (Tucson, Arizona) singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh, sophomore Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS) chopped a high single on the infield, with Peralta moving to third on a throwing error. That's when Leon singled through the left side with the game-winning RBI.
 
Summers got the win after throwing to two batters, improving her record to 7-0. The loss went to NT's Stacey Underwood, who dropped to 8-5. She allowed eight hits and two walks, striking out five. Both runs charged to her were unearned.
 
Schoff, Leon and Peralta had two hits of the Panthers' eight in the game. Schkade was the lone NT hitter with two hits.
 
For the twinbill, Schoff led all players with five hits and three runs. Leon and Dani Mowry (Cocoa, Florida / Space Coast HS) had three RBI each.
 
The two teams finish the series with a noon finale on Sunday.

#######
 
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/.