MIAMI — FIU's softball program suffered its first home defeat of the season on Sunday, falling 1-0 to Incarnate Word in a tightly-contested matchup to finish off the Panther Invitational. 

The Panthers (13-3) closed out their second home tournament with a 4-1 overall record, suffering a one-run defeat to the Cardinals of Incarnate Word. FIU's pitching staff had an excellent weekend once again, surrendering just seven combined runs over a span of five games. 

In Sunday's tilt with UIW, Kennedy Byrd (5-1) took the loss despite a masterful performance, going 7.0 innings and allowing just three hits and one earned run with five strikeouts on 66 pitches. Byrd held the Cardinals hitless in the first 3.2 innings, but a solo homer from UIW with two outs in the fourth proved to be the difference. 

Offensively, FIU had six hits, led by Leah Clark and Paige Miller with two each. Clark tripled in the fifth and is currently riding a six-game hitting streak. Kally Meredith was on base twice as well with one hit and one walk, pushing her hit streak to 11 games and her on-base streak to 16 games. 

UP NEXT
FIU hosts its final home tournament of the season this upcoming weekend, welcoming Harvard, Fordham and South Dakota to the '305' for the FIU Classic. The tournament will feature the same format as the Panther Invitational with Round Robin play followed by Semifinals  (Feb. 28) and then Consolation/Championship games (March 1) Fans can follow along for select games via video on ESPN+ and live stats for all contests at fiusports.com/WatchSB and fiusports.com/SBStats. 

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