GAINESVILLE, Fla. (May 19, 2017) -- For the second-straight game and only the second time all season, FIU softball was shut out in consecutive games, falling to Oklahoma State, 2-0, during the opening game of the NCAA Gainesville Regional at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, Friday.
 
The Panthers, who drop to 45-14 on the season, made play after play in the field, keeping the game scoreless through five innings. The Cowgirls, now 36-23, did not have a hit against FIU freshman Shannon Saile (Land O'Lakes, Florida / Land O'Lakes HS) until a three-hit sixth inning, when a single and two doubles scored two OSU runs. That was enough to beat FIU.
 
"That was one really well-pitched game by both pitchers," said FIU Head Coach Gator Rebhan. "Their pitcher kept us off balance and kept hitting her spots. We couldn't get anything started. Shannon pitched well today and we played good defense. In the sixth inning, they came up with a couple of big hits and that's what it takes to win these games."
 
Both teams had just three hits in the pitcher's duel.
 
Saile walked six Cowgirls in the contest, the most since back-to-back, six-walk games against Florida Atlantic on April 1 and 2.
 
The two earned runs against her were the most since allowing two earned runs in a 2-1 loss on April 14 against Marshall.
 
Saile allowed baserunners in the first five innings, all on walks, but the defense came to play. Junior catcher Julia Gilbert (Rialto, California) caught a runner trying to steal in the first and picked off a runner at second in the second inning, while the infield turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the third. The loss drops her season record to 19-10. She struck out four in the game, and her 238 strikeouts on the year are the second-most in a single season at FIU, two away from the mark set by Kasey Barrett in 2010.
 
The Panthers could not string together more than one hit in an inning against OSU starter Brandi Needham. Senior Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) snuck an infield single through the left side in the first, but was erased on a double play. Junior Kasandra Castle (Lake Worth, Florida / Palm Beach Central HS) was hit by a pitch for the team-leading 18^th time this season in the second, but was left on in that frame. Sophomore and FIU leading hitter Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS) hit a two-out single in the sixth and stole second, but could not advance. In the seventh, the Panthers got a leadoff double from senior Stephanie Texeira (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep), but two popouts and a flyout ended the contest with her in scoring position.
 
"Our defense played as strong as it has been," said Texeira after the game. "The thing we have do is figure it out at the plate. We have that drive and hunger on the field and we have to translate that into our at bats. We have to stay as focused when we bat as we are playing defense."
 
The Panthers will play Saturday at 2:30 against Florida A&M in the first elimination game of the weekend. Florida A&M lost 9-0 to Florida in five innings. The last time FIU was in an NCAA Regional, it was in Gainesville. After losing their first game, the Panthers eliminated Bethune-Cookmam and UCF to advance to the Regional Final against host Florida.
 
The ESPN family of networks is televising the tournament and will inform all of the teams where each game will air following the conclusion of Friday's NCAA action.
                                                                                                                    
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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 eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and 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/.