MIAMI (April 19, 2017) -- An RBI double from junior Kasandra Castle (Lake Worth, Florida / Palm Beach Central) got the offense started, and a sacrifice fly from catcher Julia Gilbert (Rialto, California) provided the go-ahead run for FIU softball in a 3-1 win over visiting FGCU in game one of Wednesday doubleheader at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
 
The Panthers added an insurance run on a bases-loaded wild pitch in the fifth inning to take the game-one victory. FIU is now 35-11 on the season, dropping the Eagles to 21-22.
 
FGCU scored first in the game on a solo home run by third baseman Brittany McGuire in the top of the fourth.
 
FIU scored twice in the bottom of the frame. The Eagles outhit FIU 6-3 for the game.
 
FIU sophomore starting pitcher Abby Summers improved to 11-0 after tossing five innings. She allowed the one run on five hits and two walks, recording four strikeouts.
 
Summers made way for fellow sophomore Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) in the sixth and Kugelmann allowed just one single in the final two frames for her second save of the season. FIU leads Conference USA with seven team saves this season.

Senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) tied her career high by drawing three walks in the contest.

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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/.