MIAMI (April 27, 2019) - The FIU softball team split on Saturday against visiting Southern Miss, as the Panthers won the first game 6-3 before falling 4-2 to the Golden Eagles in the night capper.

FIU is now 24-23 overall on the year and 5-14 in C-USA play. Southern Miss is now 29-18 and 12-8 in conference play on the year. Sunday's game will serve as Senior Day for FIU's Tatyana Forbes, Deven Kennedy, Megan Kugelmann, Natalie Orcutt and Jackie Schoff.

FIU will look to win the series on Sunday with first pitch set for 12 p.m. ET. Live stats for all games can be found here. Game notes for this weekend can be found here. Tickets to all FIU home games can be purchased online at tickets.fiusports.com or by phone at 305-FIU-GAME.

FIU's Allison Muraskin pitched a complete game in the opener on Saturday to earn the win, as the sophomore allowed just three runs off five hits. Megan Kugelmann picked up the loss in the second game despite pitching a complete game as well, as she gave up four runs to USM.
 
At the plate, Madison Lewis and Montana Szara highlighted the FIU offense on Saturday as the pair combined for four RBIs. Natalie Orcutt, Jackie Schoff and Brittany Phillips each collected two hits on the day. 

In game one, Southern Miss jumped out early, as the Golden Eagles pushed across one run in the first. The Panthers responded quickly, after scoring five in the bottom half of the first to take the 5-1 lead. After Schoff scored on an error, Lewis and Szara earned two-run RBI hits to spark the five-run inning. Phillips kept the momentum going in the next frame, as the sophomore singled in FIU's sixth run of the game to go up 6-1. USM scored a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings, but the Panthers held the Golden Eagles in check as they earned the 6-3 victory. 

USM jumped ahead 4-0 in the second game, holding the Panthers hitless until the final frame before FIU began its rally. Orcutt finally broke up the no-no with a bunt single as she beat out the play at first. USM pitchers walked in back-to-back runs after FIU loaded the bases, but the Panthers could only get within two as they lost a 4-2 decision. 

UP NEXT
After Sunday's series finale, the Panthers will head to El Paso, Texas as the FIU softball team faces the UTEP Miners on May 4-5 for a three-game conference series to close out the regular season. Saturday's games are set for 3:00 p.m. ET and 5:30 p.m. ET. The series finale will be on Sunday at 2:00 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.