MIAMI – The FIU softball team will open the 2022 campaign this weekend by hosting the Felsberg Invitational from Friday, Feb. 11 through Sunday, Feb. 13 at the FIU Softball Stadium.
 
The three-day, four-team event will see the Panthers battle 2021 NCAA qualifiers Tennessee and UNC Greensboro, along with Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member Maryland and play a total of five games.
 
The first five games will see each team play each other in a round-robin format. 
 
The teams will then be seeded No. 1 – No. 4 based on those results setting the matchups for the final two games on Saturday – with No. 2 vs. No. 3 (3 p.m. ET).  No. 1 vs. No. 4 will then follow (5:30 p.m. ET).
 
The winners of each of those games will square off on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET, with the losers playing just prior at 10 a.m. ET.
 
This season marks the first for FIU head coach Mike Larabee, who leads the Panthers after six season as the head coach at the University of Arkansas and most recently as an assistant at the University of Maryland.
 
The Panthers return last season's top two hitters in senior infielder Venessa Gallegos and fellow senior first bagger Kayla Whitehead.  Gallegos ripped for an average of .352 last season with 33 RBI.  Whitehead registered a .311 average with 15 extra-base hits. 
 
Sophomore Alexa Ross also returns after leading the squad with 15 stolen bases during her freshman season.
 
The Panthers top returning pitchers are senior Kendahl Dunford, who fanned 48 batters and tossed seven complete games last season and sophomore Brooklynn Linneman, who recorded a team-high eight complete games and logged 43 strikeouts.
 
2022 Felsberg Invitational Schedule
at FIU Softball Stadium
Friday, Feb. 11
10 a.m.            UNC Greensboro vs. Tennessee
12:30 p.m.       Tennessee vs. Maryland
3 p.m.               UNC Greensboro vs. FIU
5:30 p.m.         Maryland vs. FIU
 
Saturday, Feb. 12
10 a.m.            Maryland vs. UNC Greensboro
12:30 p.m.       Tennessee vs. FIU
3 p.m.               No. 2 vs. No. 3
5:30 p.m.         No. 1 vs. No. 4
 
Sunday, Feb. 13
10 a.m.            2/3 Loser vs. 1/4 Loser
12:30 p.m.       2/3 winner vs. 1/4 Winner
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUSoftball), Twitter (@FIUSoftball), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSoftball) for all the latest FIU Softball news.