EL PASO, TEXAS --- The FIU softball team suffered a 7-6 loss to UTEP on the road inside the Helen of Troy Softball Complex on Thursday as the host Miners pushed across two runs in each of the final three innings.
 
With the defeat, FIU (29-15, 11-8) slipped into a tie for third place in the conference standings with Sam Houston. They'll face UTEP at 1 p.m. each of the next two days.
 
FIU jumped out to a three-run lead after a third-inning outburst that featured an RBI groundout from Kendall Catherwood and a two-run home run from Kennedy Byrd.
 
UTEP responded with a single run in the third, but Catherwood got it back with a solo home run in the fifth, which gave the Panthers a 4-1 lead.
 
The teams continued their back-and-forth action as UTEP plated two in the fifth, which was followed by an RBI single from Kally Meredith and a bases loaded walk from Catherwood in the sixth.
 
The game's turning point, however, came in the next two at bats as FIU struck out in back-to-back at bats with the bases juiced to end the sixth as they failed to further add to the lead, and UTEP took advantage.
 
The Miners (17-24, 6-13) scored a pair of runs in the sixth, although Brooke McNichols entered in relief with the bases loaded and one out, and she proceeded to induce a 4-3 line drive double play to keep FIU ahead 6-5.
 
The Panthers, however, were retired 1-2-3 on six pitches in the seventh. Byrd, who started the game before exiting for Vanderkous to begin the sixth, moved back to the circle after UTEP hit a leadoff, game-tying solo home run off McNichols.
 
After getting a pair of flyouts on five pitches, Byrd also fell victim to the long ball as UTEP sent a walk-off home run to center.
 
Despite the loss, FIU got a solid performance from the top half of its lineup as Meredith, Catherwood, Byrd, Janelle Martinez and Brooke McCann each had one hit.
 
Catherwood added a game-best three RBIs along with a walk. Byrd also knocked in two, while Paige Miller walked twice and scored a run out of the three-hole.
 
Collier Peaden had the sixth hit for FIU, finishing 1-for-2 with a run.
 
Byrd (L, 11-9) took the defeat, while UTEP was able to go without a strikeout against the combination of Byrd, Vanderkous and McNichols.
 
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