MIAMI – The FIU softball team erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fourth and proceeded to roll to a 9-2 victory over Kansas City on Friday night in the second day of the Felsberg Invitational.
The six-run fourth flipped an early 2-0 deficit into a 6-2 lead for the Panthers. Freshman
Isabella Perez and junior
Carmen Perez set the table with a single and double to lead off the frame. They were both pushed across two batters when Kansas City's Lexy Smith overthrew an attempt to get
Isabella Perez at the plate on a hard grounder off the bat of freshman
Kaleena Downing.
Junior
Alexis Ross kept the rally going with a double to left center that brought home Downing and gave the Panthers the lead for good at 3-2. Sophomore
Ashton Lansdell added an RBI single before
Makayla Navarro plated a pair on a single to right to up the margin to 6-2.
The Panthers (1-1) added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth on just two hits. Lansdell and Navarro sandwiched walks around a fielder's choice by
Morgan Adams which loaded the bases for FIU with one out.
Logan Turner ripped a single up the middle to plate Lansdell before
Carmen Perez drove home Adams on a RBI fielder's choice. Navarro closed out the scoring when she raced home on the back end of a double steal attempt.
Kansas City (1-1) took an early 2-0 advantage after the first three Roos reached to open the game. Ally Vonfeldt followed with an RBI single before the final run was scored by Kiki McCrea as the Panthers turned a double play.
The Panthers finished the game with 13 hits – their highest total in the last 64 games.
Frankie Izard and
Carmen Perez each led the way with three hits. Izard added three stolen bases – as FIU totaled six total swipes in the contest.
Freshman
Brooke McNichols (1-0) notched her first collegiate win after limiting the Roos to just a pair of runs while scattering seven hits and issuing just one walk.
Ella Whitney tossed the final three innings while holding Kansas City scoreless for her first career save.
The Panthers are back in action at the Felsberg Invitational with a pair of games on Saturday, Feb. 11. FIU will face Georgia State in a 12:30 p.m. ET first pitch before facing an opponent to be determined at either 3 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.
The FIU-Georgia State game will be streamed on
Conference USA TV.
TICKETS
For more information on FIU Softball season and individual tickets, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the
FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office.
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@FIUSoftball), and Facebook (
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