GAINESVILLE, Fla. (May 20, 2017) -- FIU got a pair of RBI from junior Kasandra Castle (Lake Worth, Florida / Palm Beach Central HS) and a complete-game shutout from sophomore Megan Kugelmann (Merritt Island, Florida / Cocoa Beach HS) to record its third NCAA Postseason victory, 3-0 over Florida A&M University at Katie Seashole Pressly Field in Gainesville, Florida, Saturday.
 
The win for the Panthers makes them 46-14, eliminates A&M and advances the Panthers to another elimination game at 5 p.m. FIU will take on Oklahoma State for a second time, with the winner advancing to the Regional final against Florida tomorrow. 
 
Senior Ashley Leon (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) drew a one-out walk and stole second. She scored on an RBI single through the right side from Castle to break the team's 14-inning scoreless streak.
 
In the third, sophomore center fielder Jackie Schoff (Bradenton, Florida / Lakewood Ranch HS) singled on the infield to lead off the frame. After a sacrifice bunt from Leon moved her into scoring position, Castle struck again, with a double to short right center to score Schoff. Schoff's run was her 53^rd, extending her own program record for runs in a single season.
 
The Panthers added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman shortstop Jessica Rivera (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) scooted a double down the third-base line. Rivera came in after a double by catcher Julia Gilbert (Rialto, California) dropped between fielders for the 3-0 lead.
 
Kugelmann joins Kasey Barrett and Jennifer Gniadek as the other Panther pitchers to win an NCAA Region game. All three FIU Postseason wins were by shutout. She improved to 15-4 on the season after allowing eight hits and no walks, striking out two. 
 
The last time FIU was in the elimination bracket, the Panthers shutout the opponent that gave them their first loss of the regional, UCF, but a 7-0 final. The evening game revisits the 3-0 loss to Oklahoma State in Friday's Regional opener.

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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/.