MIAMI (April 29, 2017) -- FIU softball secured a Conference USA doubleheader sweep of visiting WKU by virtue of a 4-1, game-two win Saturday at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium. The Panthers scored three runs in the first and never trailed for their 39^th win of the season, improving to 39-12 overall, 13-6 in C-USA. WKU falls to 26-25, 10-12 in conference.
 
FIU is five wins away from the program record of 44, set in 2001, and are on pace to finish with the fewest losses in a season in program history.
 
The Panthers scored three runs on two hits and two errors in the first inning. The game-winning RBI came on an RBI double from junior Kasandra Castle (Lake Worth, Florida / Palm Beach Central HS), the first of two doubles for her in the game, giving her a team-leading 11 in 2017. She is tied for fifth in doubles in Conference USA.
 
Sophomore Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) got the win in relief, giving up one earned run in five innings, improving to 13-4.
 
Freshman Shannon Saile (Land O'Lakes, Florida / Land O'Lakes HS), who tossed a one-hit shutout and struck out a career-high 14 in the game-one win, got the save in the nightcap. Saile entered with the bases loaded and one out with a 3-1 lead in the sixth and got a pair of strikeouts looking, the last after starting 3-0, to escape unscathed. She allowed one baserunner by hitting a batter in the seventh, but held the lead for her third save of the season. With her 16 strikeouts for the day, she is now sixth in program history with 186 in a single season. The Panthers lead Conference USA with eight pitching saves, a 1.86 team ERA and 310 strikeouts.
 
Three different Panthers had one RBI each, with Castle tying for the game-high two hits.
 
FIU is now 7-1 at home in conference games, winning all three home C-USA series. FIU is 20-2 at home this season, allowing opponents a paltry 1.5 runs per game and an ERA of 1.24. The Panthers have won their last six home contests. The series finale will be Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern, with the Panthers attempting to win 40 games for just the second time in program history.

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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/.