BOCA RATON, Fla. (April 1, 2017) -- FIU softball stayed hot, scoring five runs in the first inning, and cruised to its 17^th-straight victory, 5-1, over Florida Atlantic at the FAU Softball Stadium in Conference USA action. The victory is in the first of two games between the conference rivals for Saturday. FIU improves to 31-6 on the season, 7-0 in Conference USA. FAU falls to 22-12, 5-2 in league play.
 
The Panthers put together a devastating first inning, with the five runs on four hits and two Owls errors. After the first three batters reached on two hits and an error to load the bases, catcher Julia Gilbert (RIalto, California) walked to drive in the first run and redshirt senior outfielder Dani Mowry (Cocoa, Florida / Space Coast HS) doubled to drive in two more for the 3-0 lead with nobody out. Freshman third baseman Jocelin Soto (Oxnard, California) singled in the fifth run after an error on a fielder's choice scored the fourth run of the frame.
 
That was all that FIU starter Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) needed. Kugelmann pitched her fifth complete game of the season, scattering five hits and three walks in her seven innings. She allowed one run in the third inning on two hits, but nothing else for the Owls, who had swept FIU last season in Miami. Kugelmann improved to 11-1 on the season, winning her last three starts. She retired seven Owls in a row at one point and recorded four strikeouts.
 
Mowry's two RBI were the game-high total and senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) finished with two hits, tied for the game high. 
 
The loss went to FAU's Amanda Wilson, who allowed seven hits and three walks, with one strikeout. Two of the five runs charged to her were earned.  She is 8-6 on the season.
 
Freshman Shannon Saile (Land O'Lakes, Florida / Land O'Lakes HS) will pitch game two for the Panthers.

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and at the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.