DELAND, Fla. – The FIU softball team erupted for eight runs in the top of the fourth inning and then rolled to its eighth consecutive win by the final score of 8-5 over Stetson on Friday evening in its second game of the day at the Stetson Invitational.
The Panthers explosive offensive display in the fourth saw 10 of the first 12 hitters reach base safely.
Brittany Phillips and
Madison Lewis singled to open the inning and then
Alexis Ross was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Gabby Ruiz drove in the inning's first run with an RBI single to left.
Venessa Gallegos drove in a run on a groundout to short to make it 2-0.
Carmen Perez drew a bases-loaded walk to extend the lead to 3-0. The floodgates then opened as
Brooke McCann,
Kayla Whitehead and
Brittany Phillips ripped consecutive RBI singles to increase the FIU lead to 6-0. Lewis was hit by a pitch in the next at bat to drive home McCann and Ross tabbed another run-scoring single to close out the scoring.
The Panthers found themselves trailing early following a three-run blast by Stetson's Jules Schumacher that gave the Hatters an early 3-0 edge.
Stetson added a single run in both the fifth and the sixth to get within three runs but would not be able to add on any more runs in the final frame.
FIU starter
Brooklynn Linneman (6-1) picked up her second win of the day by scattering 10 hits and allowing five runs, three of which were earned over six innings of work.
Senior
Kendahl Dunford sealed the win with three consecutive outs after entering the game following a leadoff single by Stetson's Danielle Diaz. She struck out the final two batters she faced.
The Panthers did not issue a single walk in the win and the duo combined to fan six.
Marissa Baxter (1-1) was hit with the loss for Stetson after allowing six runs and four hits over 3.1 innings.
Phillips finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a stolen base and a run scored.
The win marks the Panthers' eighth straight overall and moves their season mark to 12-9. Stetson slips to 9-9 with the loss.
The win for FIU also evened the season series between the intra-state programs at a game a piece with the rubber game set for Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET.
UP NEXT: The Panthers (12-9) will look to extend their winning streak to nine games tomorrow when they face Bethune-Cookman in the first of two games on Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET.
FIU will also have a rematch with Stetson on Saturday that is slated for a 3 p.m. ET first pitch.
Saturday's game vs. the Hatters will air live on
ESPN+ - click here to watch
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