MIAMI — FIU's softball program downed Lafayette 6-2 in its first contest to highlight its opening day at the Panther Invite on Friday. 

The Panthers (7-6) downed the Leopards (0-5) in the opening game of the day at the Panther Invite. FIU then fell in the nightcap to Iowa (8-3), 4-1, to finish the day with a split. 

Lafayette

Megan Kruger earned the nod in the circle for the Panthers and posted two scoreless inning to open the game. FIU then took command of the game in the bottom of the second as the offense pushed across five runs in the frame. 

Bailey Grossenbacher opened the scoring with an RBI single, plating Kendall Catherwood for the 1-0 advantage. The Panthers tacked on two more on a two-RBI single from Kally Meredith, her fifth and sixth RBI of the season. 

Collier Peaden, the next hitter in the lineup, dropped down a perfect bunt to score Paige Miller and put FIU up 4-0. Meredith scored the final run in the five-run second, coming across the plate courtesy of a Brooke McCann double to left. 

Lafayette answered with an unearned run in the third, but Peaden's RBI groundout in the fourth immediately put FIU back up five, 6-1. Kruger (1-1) was very effective for the entirety of the game, allowing just one additional run in the seventh, earning the complete game victory. 

Meredith, McCann, Catherwood and Miller all went for 2-for-3 in the opener. Kruger's scattered eight hits and surrendered just two runs, one earned, with four walks and one strikeout on 102 pitches. 

Iowa

Kennedy Byrd took the ball for FIU against the Hawkeyes to close out the opening day of the Panther Invite. After Byrd kept Iowa scoreless to begin the game, the FIU offense responded with a run in the first to take a 1-0 lead. 

Meredith singled to open up the Panther at-bat, stole second and came around to score on a fielding error to put FIU ahead. Iowa found a big inning of its own, however in the third, pushing across four runs on two hits. 

From there, the Hawkeye pitching kept FIU off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game, resulting in a three-run defeat. Byrd (3-4) went a complete game 7.0 innings and allowed six hits, four runs (one earned) and had four walks on 113 pitches. 

Meredith, McCann, Martinez and Jensen Luke, who entered as a pinch hitter, each had one hit for FIU.

UP NEXT

FIU continues the Panther Invite on Saturday, Feb. 22 at home, taking on Iowa at 12:30 p.m. and Lafayette at 5:30 p.m.

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