MIAMI (March 23, 2017) -- FIU softball needed three runs in the sixth inning to secure its 13^th-straight victory, a 3-1 win over visiting Jacksonville Thursday evening at Felsberg Field at the FIU Softball Stadium in non-conference action. The win extends the team's school-record win streak, beating the 11 in a row set in 2010. The Panthers are a school-record 27-6 on the year, dropping the Dolphins to 20-12 overall.
 
Jacksonville did not feel the effects of the more than five-hour bus ride earlier in the day down to South Florida, or at least did not show it, by getting two hits, including an RBI double from junior catcher Heather Roberts in the first inning to take the early 1-0 lead.
 
JU pitcher Taylor Thorpe was excellent in the circle, limiting the Panthers to just one hit in the first five innings. FIU sophomore Abby Summers (Weston, Missouri) was also terrific after the first, setting down 13 batters in a row at one point, keeping the bases empty in innings two, three, four and five.
 
The Dolphins got the first two runners aboard in the sixth on a hit and an error before Summers got a ground out and a strikeout, and, after a two-out walk, getting a final ground out to escape with no damage and leaving the bases loaded.
 
FIU then struck gold in the sixth when leadoff batter and sophomore center fielder Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS) tripled over the head of the left fielder to get 60-feet away with nobody out. A slap to the right side of the infield by senior Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) resulted in a fielding error and Schoff scored to tie the game. After a popout, designated player Kasandra Castle (Lake Worth, Florida / Palm Beach Central) doubled to left, and Leon came home on a throwing error. An RBI double from redshirt senior Dani Mowry (Cocoa, Florida / Space Coast HS) drove in Castle for the game's final scoring play.
 
Summers gave up a leadoff single in the seventh, but the runner was stranded there after a strikeout and two popouts ended the contest. She stuck out six batters, scattering four hits and two walks in the complete-game effort. Her record is a team-best 9-0.
 
The Panthers head out of town Friday for a Conference USA weekend series at Middle Tennessee. The series has been moved up to start Friday night at 8 p.m. Eastern due to a massive storm expected to hit the area on Saturday. The Saturday doubleheader will begin at noon Eastern, weather permitting.

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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/.