MIAMI (April 14, 2017) -- FIU softball plated five runs in the third inning to put away East-division leading Marshall 8-4 and split the Friday Conference USA doubleheader at Felsberg Field and FIU Softball Stadium. The win gives the Panthers a 33-11 record, 9-5 in C-USA. Marshall drops to 33-6, 15-2 in C-USA. The 33 wins for each team are tied for the league lead. FIU is 15-2 at home this season.
 
"We are trying to get back to playing FIU softball," said FIU Head Coach Gator Rebhan. "The difference for us when we win is not walking hitters when we pitch and then putting the ball in play when we have runners on base. When we don't give free runners, the hits don't hurt us. And when we're hitting, we have to take advantage of runners by not popping out, which we have been doing too much of lately."
 
The lead changed hands every half inning in three-consecutive at bats. FIU got the first run of the day when sophomore catcher Julia Gilbert (Rialto, California) drove a one-out, RBI single up the middle in the second.
 
The Thundering Herd took their lead of the game after an infield bunt for a hit and sacrifice bunt was followed by back-to-back home runs down the left field line for a 3-1 lead.
 
FIU got three hits, two hit batters and an RBI walk to score five runs. Gilbert drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, which was followed by an RBI single to center by senior Sammi Green (Marietta, Georgia).
 
FIU never looked back, as each team added a run in the fourth. FIU senior first baseman Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) homered into the wind for her 10^th of the season and program record 42^nd of her career for the game's final scoring play in the sixth inning.
 
Relief pitchers got both decisions in the game. Sophomore Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) got the win in relief for FIU. She scattered five hits in the final 4.2 innings for the win, with no walks or strikeouts.
 
Marshall reliever Kailee Williamson took the loss for the Herd, to drop to 4-2. She gave up two runs without recording an out, hitting one batter and walking another.
 
FIU's last five losses all came with more hits than the opponent, but won the Marshall nightcap with fewer hits than the Herd (11-8). The win was just the second in eight games this season when the Panthers were outhit by their opponent.

Texeira, Gilbert and Green all drove in two to tie for the game-high total. Green tied her career-high with the pair, the fourth time she has driven in two, all this season.

Sophomore Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS) led all players with four hits in the twinbill. She raised her season average to .447, which is the second-highest in the league.
 
The series finale begins at noon Saturday.
 
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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 Riccardo Silva 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/.