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Saturday, April 5, 2003
FIU sets new school mark
with ninth consecutive victory; opens league play with sweep
of NMSU
 he
Florida International softball team set a school record with
its eighth and ninth consecutive victories as the Golden Panthers
opened Sun Belt Conference play with a doubleheader sweep of
New Mexico State (13-2, 2-1) on Saturday in Las Cruces. FIU eclipsed
the previous mark of eight straight wins set by the 2000 and
2001 squads.
Amber Gill hit her first collegiate grand slam in the first
game and finished the day with five RBI. Jennifer Owens batted
3-for-8 with four RBI.
FIU hurlers Kendra Laminack (7-7) and Amanda Nealer (14-6)
earned the wins while the Golden Panthers record now stands at
24-19, 2-0 SBC while NMSU falls to 7-38, 0-2.
The two teams meet again on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. EST.
GAME ONE
Amber Gill hit her first career grand slam as the Golden Panthers
trounced NMSU, 13-2, in five innings.
FIU shelled the NMSU pitching staff with nine hits and took
advantage of five Aggie errors. FIU's Jennifer Owens batted 2-for-4
with three RBI while Nicole Dubovik was 1-for-1 with three RBI
and three walks.
The 13 runs were the most for the Golden Panthers this season.
FIU starter Kendra Laminack (7-7) went four innings, giving
up three hits and striking out four. Nicole Barrett closed out
the contest with two strike outs in one inning pitched.
NMSU's Anita Knight (1-16) suffered the loss, giving up all
nine hits and 11 earned runs in three and one-thirds innings.
GAME TWO
FIU pitcher Amanda Nealer (14-6) tossed her seventh-straight
victory, holding the Aggies to four hits in seven innings as
FIU held on to beat NMSU, 2-1, in game two.
FIU broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning as Lindsay
Tippings' double to left field brought home Marleah Stapf. Two
at bats later, Amber Gill walked with the bases loaded to score
Tippings.
NMSU rallied in the fifth as Jennifer Bride launched a home
run to bring the Aggies within a run. But Nealer silenced NMSU'
bats, closing out the game with three strikeouts and no hits
in her last seven at bats.
Bride pitched a complete game, dropping to 7-16 on the year. |