MADEIRA BEACH, Florida (March 1, 2019) – The FIU softball team picked up a pair of one-run victories to open the Madeira Beach Invitational on Friday, as the Panthers downed Georgia Southern and Penn State.

FIU earned a 6-5 walk-off win against Georgia Southern to open the day, before edging out Big-10 foe Penn State 3-2. With the pair of victories, the Panthers improve to 11-5 overall on the year.
 
FIU's Allison Muraskin picked up the win over Georgia Southern, after pitching 0.1 innings to earn her third victory of the season, she is now 3-3 on the year. Kendahl Dunford earned the win against Penn State, after pitching a complete game and allowing just two runs. The sophomore is now 4-1 on the year.
 
Natalie Orcutt led the Panthers at the plate on day one, after earning a walk-off single against GSU to add to her four RBI, three hit day. Jackie Schoff and Alexis Johns each scored two runs to aid in Friday's wins.

FIU will continue play at the Madeira Beach Invitational on Saturday against Villanova (4:00 p.m.) and Siena (6:30 p.m.) to cap day two.

Live stats for the Madeira Beach Invitational will be sparse, more information will be provided via Twitter (@FIUSoftball). Game notes for this weekend's matchups can be found here. 
 
In game one, FIU opened up the scoring with Jessica Rivera hit a solo shot to put the Panthers on top in the second inning. The lead was short lived however, as the Eagles answered back during the top of the third. Orcutt was quick to respond, as her single up the middle sent Schoff home, giving the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

The fifth inning saw three more runs, one from GSU and two from the Panthers as FIU continued to lead 4-2. The Eagles went on to score three more runs, taking a 5-4 advantage during the final two innings. The Panthers mounted their comeback in the bottom half of the seventh inning as a Schoff single down the left field line brought home Alyssa Laboy for the tying run, before Orcutt singled up the middle to bring around Tori Jones for the 6-5 victory.
 
The night capper saw the Nittany Lions jump ahead 1-0 in the first inning following a solo shot. In the bottom of the first, a wild pitch allowed Schoff to score, before Orcutt's single to left field sent Johns home. Penn State hit another homer in the fourth frame to tie up the score at 2-2, before Rivera would earn an RBI single to bring around Johns and give FIU the eventual winning run.

UP NEXT
After this weekend's games, the Panthers will be back home to host Boston College on March 7 at 7 p.m. ET.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUSoftball on Facebook and @FIUSoftball on Twitter and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.