CHARLOTTE (April 22, 2017) -- FIU softball came away with a road split at Charlotte after dropping game two of a Saturday doubleheader, 9-1 in six innings, at the Phillips Softball Complex in Conference USA action. After scoring 11 runs on 11 hits in five innings in the first game, FIU managed only three hits in the game-two loss as both teams won via the run rule.
 
FIU is now 37-12 on the year, ending a five-game win streak, and 11-6 in C-USA action. Charlotte is now 25-20 on the season, 7-10 in league games.
 
The 49ers got a two-run homer from top slugger Haley Pace in the first before both starting pitchers put the clamps on the scoring. The next seven half-innings had zeros on the scoreboard before Charlotte scored three in the fifth.
 
After being touched up for seven earned runs in 1.1 innings in the first game of the twinbill, Charlotte starter Haley Wiseman allowed just one hit through five frames in game two.
 
The third sacrifice fly of the season for senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) became FIU's lone run in the sixth inning after the first two batters singled.
 
Charlotte produced four more runs in the sixth to end the game.
 
FIU sophomore starter Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) gave up seven hits in four innings to fall to 12-4.
 
The series finale is scheduled to begin at noon on Sunday, but the forecast is spotty, so stay tuned to FIUSports.com for any time changes.

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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/.