CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Senior Madison Lewis crushed a two-run homer over the left field wall in the top of the seventh inning to help flip a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 victory for the Panthers at Charlotte in the final game of a three-game Conference USA set on Saturday afternoon.
 
Lewis' blast followed a leadoff double by freshman Isabella Perez to give the Panthers the lead for good at 4-3.  Ella Whitney, who finished the game a perfect 4-of-4 at the plate with three RBI, drove in the final run of the contest with a single that scored Carmen Perez to make it 5-3.
 
Freshman Brooke McNichols (5-0) closed out the win by retiring the 49ers in the bottom of the seventh and notch her second complete game of the season.  She held Charlotte to two hits and three runs over seven innings, while tossing 101 pitches.
 
Georgeanna Barefoot (2-3) suffered the loss for the 49ers after allowing the two runs and two hits in the seventh.
 
Charlotte (12-10, 2-1 C-USA) claimed a 3-1 edge in the bottom of the fifth on a three-run blast by Kassidy Krupit to set up the FIU rally.
 
Whitney gave the Panthers an early 1-0 lead with a run-scoring single in the second that drove in Abigail Brown.  She also drove home Kaleena Downing in the sixth on an infield base hit to get FIU within a run at 3-2.  Downing finished with a pair of stolen bases in the victory.
 
FIU (14-13, 1-2 C-USA) finished the game with 11 hits, including three that went for extra bases.  A total of seven Panthers recorded at least one hit in the victory.
 
The Panthers dropped the opening game of the day to Charlotte by an 8-0 margin.  FIU was limited to two hits in the loss, which saw the 49ers hit a total of three home runs.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home to host Louisiana Tech in the opening game of the initial home Conference USA series of the season on Friday, March 17 at Felsberg Field.  First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. ET.
 
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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