Jayda Hall/ Contributing Writer
If there was one word to describe the softball team’s performance on Friday, Feb. 19, it would be unconquered.
The Panthers started off the FIU invitational with a doubleheader, and despite the heavy wind each team faced, FIU landed two consecutive wins against Holy Cross (0-5) and Indiana (5-4).
Holy Cross was first to be dominated by the Panthers. FIU made it impossible for HC to score a run for the entire game making the final score 7-0.
Ashley Leon, junior infielder, lead the bottom of the first inning and scored FIU’s first run of the game.
Both teams played the second inning without scoring any runs. It wasn’t until the third inning when HC finally managed to make it to third base. The team, however, was taken out by FIU before reaching home. Leon scored another run for the team when HC’s catcher failed to catch the ball in time to get Leon out. Leon was the only player who scored more than once during the game.
Dani Mowry, junior infielder, lead the bottom of the fourth inning and took a walk to first base. She and Ashley Belans, sophomore infielder, scored a run, putting the Panthers up 4-0 at the end of the fourth.
The fifth inning moved quickly for both teams with neither scoring a run. Abby Summers, freshman right-handed pitcher, got two of HC’s runners out on a double play, ending the inning for HC.
“Abby surprised me with her performance because she gave up zero runs,” Head Coach Gator Rebhan said.
The opportunity for HC to catch up to FIU in the sixth inning vanished when Summers had a quick strikeout in the top of the inning. Lauren WIlliams, freshman infielder, lead the bottom of the sixth and scored a run. Following Williams’ run was Jackie Schoff, freshman outfielder, who scored a run and got an RBI.
Two runs in the sixth inning wasn’t enough for the Panthers, though. Stephanie Texeira, junior infielder, got an RBI and scored FIU’s last run of the game. The Panthers showed out with seven runs, 13 hits and zero errors against HC, who managed only 4 hits and got two errors.
The Panthers moved on to their last match of the day against Indiana.
A walk to first base set Indiana up for its first run of the game against the Panthers. It wasn’t until the second inning when Aleima Lopez, senior center fielder, scored FIU’s first run of the game, and her first run of the season.
“It felt good scoring my first run, but it’s only the beginning,” Lopez said.
Both teams ended the second inning tied at one run a piece.
Indiana scored its second and last run of the game in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Hunter Scharf, junior left-handed pitcher,came in the game to pitch for the Panthers. Both teams went the entire fourth without scoring, but that changed all of a sudden for FIU in the fifth inning.
Leon stole second base and home, tying both teams at 2-2 at the bottom of the fifth. Schoff broke the tie after scoring another run for the team, and Texeira widened the gap, ending the inning with a 4-2 lead against Indiana.
The hits were tied at seven for both teams during the sixth inning after Deven Kennedy, freshman outfielder, scored another run for the Panthers.
Indiana couldn’t manage to score a run in the seventh inning, which finalized the score at 5-2.
FIU currently holds an overall record of 8-2 and will move on to play against Central Connecticut State on Thursday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m.
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