Santiago Archieri/ Staff Writer
Consistency issues seem to be arising for the FIU softball team at the wrong time of the season, as rival FAU came into Felsberg Field this past weekend and won all three games against the Panthers.
Ranked 24th in the nation, Florida Atlantic University started their weekend in Miami with a double-header on Saturday, April 9th.
The Panthers kept up with the Owls in the first game, only being down 2-1 heading into the final inning of play. However, two runs in the seventh inning gave FAU some breathing room, and FIU failed to score in their final opportunities, ending the first game with a final score of 4-1.
Corrine Jenkins was marked with the loss after pitching a complete game, giving up three earned-runs and striking out three as well. She allowed eight hits.
The lone run for FIU came in the bottom of the fifth. The offense made no noise for the Panthers, as they went on to only get three hits in the entire game. Kylee Hanson dominated on the mound for the Owls, going a complete game with 11 strikeouts.
With little time to recuperate for the Panthers, they took the field for the second game of the double-header hoping to get better results.
However, nothing would go FIU’s way this weekend. The offense showed more signs of life, matching FAU with nine hits of their own for the game, but only coming up with two runs. A three run third inning for the Owls proved to be the difference, going on to win 3-2. The Panthers recorded one error in the third that would give FAU two unearned runs.
Megan Kugelmann pitched a complete game for the Panthers, only recording one strikeout but also one earned run. Kugelmann also had a walk in what is her seventh complete game of the season.
FIU almost had a game changing comeback in the sixth inning, but they were unable to take an advantage of the bases-loaded opportunity. This would be just a small dent in the troubles for FIU during the game, as they went on to leave 11 runners on base. Jackie Schoff and Ashley Leon combined for three hits and two runs for the Panther offense.
The last game was set for Sunday, April 10th at Felsberg field, and FAU used a four run sixth inning to fuel the sweep of the Panthers. The game was scoreless until the collapse in the sixth inning, and it was the only runs of the game too as the Owls beat FIU by a final score of 4-0.
The loss was the second time this season FIU was shutout, but there are some concerns with how the rest of the season will play out for the Panthers.
The last three series’ FIU has been a part of have ended in sweeps, with FIU only being the winner in one of them. The team is now 7-8 in the Conference USA standings and falls to 21-20 overall for the season.
FIU only has nine conference games left in the season, including one series against a very great UAB team on the road. The other games come in three game series’ against Middle Tennessee and Marshall, which are both in the hunt to gain ground in the standings before the Conference USA tournament starts.