MIAMI - Sophomore
Ashton Lansdell homered twice, including one that sparked a rally in the FIU softball team's 8-5 victory over Stony Brook in the first of two against the Sea Wolves on Saturday afternoon at the FIU Classic.
Lansdell's first shot, a two-run blast to left center in the bottom of the fifth flipped a 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead that the Panthers would not relinquish en route to the three-run victory.
Freshman
Isabella Perez, who finished with four RBI over the two games, added two more runs on the board in the fifth on a two-run double to left. Junior
Abigail Brown scampered home for the game's final run on a wild pitch in the sixth.
The Panthers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first on a sacrifice fly by Perez and an error by Stony Brook third baseman Brooke Dye, which allowed sophomore
Alexis Ross to score.
FIU (11-10) added two more in the second to open a 4-0 edge before the Sea Wolves posted four runs in the fourth to tie the score. All of Stony Brook's runs came with two outs, with the big blow coming in a two RBI double by Juliana Sanzone.
Ashley Jacobson briefly put Stony Brook ahead 5-4 with a solo home run in the top of the fifth.
Ross finished the game with three hits for the Panthers and scored a pair of runs while driving in another. Lansdell also posted three hits, including the homer and scored twice and drove in two.
Isabella Perez posted a pair of hits and two RBI, while
Carmen Perez also recorded two hits and scored a run.
Defensively,
Isabella Perez continued to excel behind the plate in the victory as she threw out the one runner who attempted to steal and pick off another off second base.
Freshman
Megan Kruger (4-1) picked up the win for FIU after pitching 3.1 innings of relief while limiting the Sea Wolves to four hits and one run.
In the second game of the day against Stony Brook, FIU battled back to tie the game in the seventh after trailing 7-3 through four and a half innings.
The Panthers actually took the game's first lead at 2-1 in the second with on an RBI groundout by
Isabella Perez and a wild pitch that plated Mikaya Navarro.
Stony Brook (6-6) responded with a four-run second to open a 5-2 edge. Lansdell homered in the third to trim te margin to 5-3, but the Sea Wolves posted a couple of scores in the fifth to extend the lead to 7-3.
The Panthers then rallied with a pair of runs in both the sixth and seventh to deadlock the score at 7-7. Sophomore
Brooke McCann provided a key RBI single in the fifth and
Madison Lewis drew a bases loaded walk to account for the runs in the sixth. Navarro tabbed a RBI double in the seventh and
Isabella Perez drove in the tying run on a groundout to short.
The comeback fell short when Stony Brook's Alicia Orosco plated the winning run in the seventh on a single to third for the final 8-7 margin.
OF NOTE
The Panthers were a perfect 4-of-4 in stolen base attempts over the two games. Lansdell is a perfect 15-for-15 in her stolen base attempts this season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers conclude play at the FIU Classic with a match up against Stonehill College. First pitch is slated for 12:30 p.m. at Felsberg Field.
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.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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(@FIUSoftball), Twitter (
@FIUSoftball), and Facebook (
Facebook.com/FIUSoftball) for all the latest FIU Softball news.
