MIAMI – The FIU softball team will trek upstate for a non-conference showdown at UCF on Tuesday, April 11 at 3 p.m. ET.
 
The Panthers and Knights will be meeting for the fifth consecutive season and the 15th time in program history when they face off on Tuesday.  FIU will be looking for its first win over UCF since a 4-1 victory in Orlando on April 24, 2019.
 
Tuesday's game will be aired live on ESPN Plus – live from the UCF Softball Complex.
 
TUESDAY, APRIL 11 – 3 P.M.
FIU (18-21) at UCF (24-18)
 
ESPN PLUS LIVE STREAM LINKS
Tuesday, April 11 – 3 p.m.
 
LIVE STAT LINK (ALL THREE GAMES)
FIU at UCF – Live Stats
 
SCOUTING UCF
The Knights (24-18) are riding a five-game winning streak entering Tuesday's clash with the Panthers.  UCF's last defeat came on March 26 by a 10-5 margin against then-No. 22 Wichita State.
 
UCF took a single game at Florida Gulf Coast (7-2) on April 5 and swept East Carolina in a three-game American Athletic Conference series on March 31-April 2.
 
The Knights boast a .281 team batting average and are averaging nearly 4.6 runs per game.  They are led offensively by Chloe Evans and Aubrey Evans – who each own identical .323 batting averages.  Jadia Cody is the top power source with a team-high six homers.  Evans paces the Knights with 28 RBI and 19 extra-base hits.
 
The Knights' pitching staff enters Tuesday's clash with a collective 3.39 earned run average.  Grace Jewell leads the way with 92.1 inning pitched and a 2.20 ERA.  She is 8-4 overall this season. 
 
Sarah Willis (2.32/8-3) and Kaitlyn Felton (3.96/5-4) round out the UCF starting hurlers.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Panthers dropped a pair of one-run decisions in its most recent action in a three-game series at Florida Atlantic last weekend.
 
FIU opened the series with a 10-inning 2-1 setback that saw starting pitcher Sydney Birling go all 10 innings and limit the Owls to two runs on nine hits.
 
The Panthers followed with back-to-back 1-0 losses in the final two games of the series.
 
COMPLETE GAME STREAK
FIU starting pitchers have tossed six straight complete games entering Tuesday's meeting with UCF.
 
Dating back to the Panthers' March 31 victory over UTSA – each of the Panthers' starting hurlers have gone on to finish the contest – including a 10-inning effort by junior Sydney Birling at Florida Atlantic on April 6.
 
Each of the Panthers' starting pitchers, Birling, Brooke McNichols and Megan Kruger have each notched a pair of complete games over the stretch.  Over the six games, the trio has held FIU's opponents to a combined seven runs.
 
DON'T RUN
Bella Perez has already established herself as a problem for opposing baserunners – she is currently ranked No. 5 in the nation for most runners caught stealing with 13.
 
The backstop opened her collegiate career by tossing out five of the first six baserunners who attempted to steal against her.
 
Entering this weekend's action, Perez has tossed out 13-of-24 would-be base stealers.
 
PANTHERS AT THE PLATE
Entering this weekend's action vs. UTSA, the Panthers boast a team batting average of .275 – which is the fifth-best total in Conference USA. 
 
While FIU ranks in the top half of the conference in hits and average, the Panthers sit ninth in runs with 142 over the initial 39 games.
 
The Panthers have recorded double-digit hit totals in a total of 12 games through the first 39 this season.
 
The Panthers finished with 13 hits in their 9-2 victory over Kansas City on Feb. 10 – at the time their highest total in the last 64 games. 
 
FIU bested that effort with 14 knocks in its 10-2 win over Oakland on Feb. 25 – its highest total in a 77-game stretch.
 
The Panthers also posted 13 knocks against Louisiana Tech on March 17.
 
SWIPING BAGS
FIU's improved team speed has been evident during the non-conference season as the Panthers currently rank second in Conference USA and No. 36 nationally in stolen bases per game with an average of 1.79 per contest.
 
The Panthers have stolen a total of 82 bases through the opening 39 games of the season and have only been caught 12 times. 
 
FIU had a stretch which saw it steal 20 consecutive bases without being thrown out that ended on Friday, March 10 vs. Charlotte.
 
Sophomore Ashton Lansdell ranks 18th nationally and second in Conference USA with 23 steals – she has only been thrown out twice this season. 
 
Freshman Makayla Navarro ranks 47th nationally and fifth among conference leaders with 18 swipes on 21 attempts.
 
A total of 12 different players have stolen at least one base for the Panthers this season.
 
Overall, FIU has posted at least one stolen base in 28 of 39 games this season.
 
The Panthers have posted multiple steals in a total of 20 contests this season.
 
FIU swiped a season-high six bases twice this season – vs. Kansas City (Feb. 10) and Holy Cross (March 7).
 
STOLEN BASE RECORD WATCH
The Panthers 70 stolen bases entering Tuesday' game at UCF is already the ninth-highest single season total in program history.
 
SINGLE SEASON STOLEN BASES (FIU)

1.  109 - 2006
109 - 2003
109 - 2000
4. 108 -2005
5.   96 - 2002
6.   83 - 2017
7.   78 - 2007
8.   76 - 1999
9.   70 – 2023

 
In addition, sophomore Ashton Lansdell's current total of 23 swipes is tied for the eight-highest single-season total in FIU annals – entering Tuesday's game at UCF.
 

1.  Nicole Dubovik (2003)	35
2.  Nicole Dubovik (2002)	30
3.  Deomni Murray (2007)	28
Tania Somoano (2000)	28
5.  Dee Joy (2005)	25
Jackie Schoff (2017)	25
7.  Tania Somoano (2001)	24
8.  Ashton Lansdell (2023)	23
Dee Joy (2005)	23
9.  Stephanie Wolter (2000)	22
10. Tania Somoano (1999)	21
Kelly Nicosia (2002)	21

 
ELLA WHITNEY BREAKS FIU RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE HITS
FIU freshman Ella Whitney put together a FIU record consecutive hit streak that spanned eight at bats after she went a perfect 4-for-4 in back-to-back games at Charlotte (3/11) and vs. Louisiana Tech (3/17).
 
The eight consecutive hits shattered previous the FIU program record of six consecutive at bats with a hit, which had been accomplished five times previously by four different players – most recently in 2005 by Tabitha Embry and Brook Ruiz.
 
CONSECUTIVE HITS

Ella Whitney (2023)	8
Tabitha Embry (2005)	6
Brook Ruiz (2005)	6
Stephanie Wolter (2003)	6
Crystal Boyer (2000)	6
Stephani Wolter (2000)	6

 
BIRLING TOSSES COMPLETE-GAME SHUTOUT VS. LA TECH
Junior pitcher Sydney Birling posted her first complete-game shutout as a Panther to lead the FIU softball team to a 1-0 victory over Louisiana Tech in the second game of a three-game conference series on March 18.
 
Birling limited the Lady Techsters to five hits and no runs over the full seven innings.  She walked two.
 
ELLA WHITNEY HAS A DAY VS. CHARLOTTE
Freshman Ella Whitney posted a season-best four hits in the Panthers' come-from-behind victory over Charlotte on March 11.
 
Whitney also tabbed three RBI in the win, including gave the Panthers an early 1-0 lead with a run-scoring single in the second and the final run of the contest with a single that scored Carmen Perez to make it 5-3.
 
FRESHMAN MEGAN KRUGER TOSSES FIRST NO-HITTER SINCE 2016
Freshman Megan Kruger tossed the first no hitter for the FIU softball team since the 2016 season as the Panthers rolled to an 8-0 victory in five innings over Stonehill College on March 3.
 
Kruger's no hitter was the first for FIU since March 5, 2016 when Megan Kuglemann pulled it off vs. Florida A&M – a span of 329 games.
 
OPENING WITH LEADOFF JACKS
Sophomore Ashton Lansdell opened games in back-to-back days with leadoff home runs at The Spring Games on Feb. 25 and 26.  She currently leads the Panthers with five homers – which also ranks fourth among C-USA leaders and 57^th nationally.
 
Lansdell led off the Panthers' 10-2 win over Oakland (Feb. 25) with a shot over the left field wall, before replicating the effort the following afternoon to open the game vs. Siena (Feb. 26).
 
Lansdell currently leads the Panthers with five homers – she sits 11th among C-USA leaders.
 
WHAT IS BACK/NEW FOR FIU
The Panthers features a total of 11 newcomers on this season's roster, including eight freshmen.  FIU returns 10 letterwinners from the 2022 squad and lost a total of 16 players.
 
UP NEXT
FIU is off this coming weekend before returning to action with a non-conference clash at North Florida on Wednesday, April 19 at 2 p.m. in Jacksonville.
 
The Panthers will return home the weekend of April 21-23 for a C-USA series against Middle Tennessee.
 
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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