Saturday, February 15, 2003

FIU loses two at sogy Pepsi Arizona Classic

IU (4-9) lost its first two games of the rain-delayed Pepsi Challenge in Tucson, Ariz. The Golden Panthers first lost to No. 6-ranked Washington, 8-0, in a game that was suspended Friday and continued early Saturday morning, then fell to Minnesota (7-0), 2-1, in extra innings.

Against the Huskies (8-0), Kristen Rivera two-run homer gave Washington a 2-0, first-inning lead against FIU starter Amanda Nealer (4-2). After a 42-minute rain delay, UW plated another run in the third inning and two more in the fourth when another rainstorm forced the game to be suspended until Saturday morning.

The Huskies put the contest away in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring three times to force the eight-run mercy rule.

Nealer would go seven innings against Minnesota, allowing only one run on three hits, but the Golden Panthers managed only one run themselves when Meagan Dontrich scored on a one-out double by Nicole Dubovik in the fifth inning.

Minnesota capitalized on the international tiebreaker rule in the top of the eighth inning off FIU’s Kendra Laminack (0-5) then shut the door for the Golden Panthers for the win. Veronica Roberts drove home the lead run in the top of the inning, and then Gophers pitcher Angie Recknor tallied the win to move to 4-0, forcing three groundouts in the bottom of the eighth.

FIU takes on host Arizona, the No. 2 team in the nation, late Saturday then closes Pepsi Challenge play Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. (ET) against Northwestern.