Saturday, April 18
Miami, Fla.
4:00 PM ET
Liberty University
21-23, 14-6
4
at
10
FIU
29-15, 11-9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| FIU | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | X | 10 | 8 | 1 |
6-Run 5th Keys FIU's 10-4 Win Over Liberty
4/18/2026 6:41:00 PM | Softball
MIAMI, Fla. – FIU evened the series at one game apiece, erupting for six runs in the fifth inning to down Liberty 10-4, Saturday at Felsberg Field at FIU Softball Stadium.
The Panthers (29-15, 11-9 CUSA) snapped a two-game losing streak, while Liberty fell to 21-23, 14-6 in conference play. The Lady Flames won game one 7-2 on Friday.
FIU 10, Liberty 4
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Carrasquillo singles to left, McManus scores, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Strickland triples to right center, Carrasquillo scores, 2-0
FIU – 1st INNING – Clark doubles to left, Martinez advances, Byrd scores, 2-1
FIU – 1st INNING – Miller reaches on fielder's choice, Clark advances, Martinez scores, 2-2
FIU – 2nd INNING – Meredith triples to right center, Downing scores, 3-2
FIU – 2nd INNING – Martinez singles to right, Byrd advances, Meredith scores, 4-2
Liberty – 4th INNING – Nash grounds out, Strickland scores, 4-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Clark singles to left, advances on throw, Martinez advances, Bedwell scores, 5-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Catherwood hit by pitch, Silvers and Miller advance, Clark scores, 6-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Luke singles through left side, Catherwood and Silvers advance, Miller scores, 7-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Downing walks, Robbins and Catherwood advance, Silvers scores, 8-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Meredith sacrifice fly, Downing walks, Catherwood scores, Robbins scores on error, 10-3
Liberty – 7th INNING – Lee doubles down left field line, Roberts scores, 10-4
Turning Point
Liberty and FIU battle for the series victory on Sunday, with the game beginning at 11 a.m. in Miami.
The Panthers (29-15, 11-9 CUSA) snapped a two-game losing streak, while Liberty fell to 21-23, 14-6 in conference play. The Lady Flames won game one 7-2 on Friday.
FIU 10, Liberty 4
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 1st INNING – Carrasquillo singles to left, McManus scores, 1-0
Liberty – 1st INNING – Strickland triples to right center, Carrasquillo scores, 2-0
FIU – 1st INNING – Clark doubles to left, Martinez advances, Byrd scores, 2-1
FIU – 1st INNING – Miller reaches on fielder's choice, Clark advances, Martinez scores, 2-2
FIU – 2nd INNING – Meredith triples to right center, Downing scores, 3-2
FIU – 2nd INNING – Martinez singles to right, Byrd advances, Meredith scores, 4-2
Liberty – 4th INNING – Nash grounds out, Strickland scores, 4-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Clark singles to left, advances on throw, Martinez advances, Bedwell scores, 5-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Catherwood hit by pitch, Silvers and Miller advance, Clark scores, 6-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Luke singles through left side, Catherwood and Silvers advance, Miller scores, 7-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Downing walks, Robbins and Catherwood advance, Silvers scores, 8-3
FIU – 5th INNING – Meredith sacrifice fly, Downing walks, Catherwood scores, Robbins scores on error, 10-3
Liberty – 7th INNING – Lee doubles down left field line, Roberts scores, 10-4
Turning Point
- FIU led 4-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. The Panthers then put the game out of reach with a six-run inning. Leah Clark's RBI single made it 5-3 before a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. After a bases-loaded hit by pitch and Jensen Luke RBI single, Abigail Findlay entered the circle in relief of Danner Allen. FIU added three more runs before Findlay's strikeout of Kennedy Byrd ended the inning.
- Liberty got one run in the seventh, courtesy of a pinch-hit RBI double by Dani Lee.
- FIU outhit Liberty 8-7 for the game, with both teams committing one error and both leaving four in base.
- Brooke McNichols (7-2) earned the win, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits, striking out two.
- Gabby Mike (2-10) drew the loss, yielding four runs on four hits, walking three and fanning one in 1 2/3 innings before giving way to Danner Allen (2 2/3 IP) and Abigail Findlay (1 2/3 IP). Findlay tied her career high with three strikeouts.
- Leah Clark batted 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and one run scored for FIU, while Janelle Martinez went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run. Kally Meredith went 1-for-3 with a triple, two RBI and one run.
- For Liberty, Maci Strickland went 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored, while Danie Lee batted 1-for-1 with a double and one RBI. Brynn McManus doubled, while Alexia Carrasquillo and Savannah Nash drove in one run each.
- Liberty leads FIU 6-2 in the all-time softball series. The Lady Flames had won each of the last four meetings since a 10-2 FIU win, March 10, 2024.
- The Lady Flames are 9-5 when scoring in the first inning this season.
- Nash is now Liberty's active career leader in RBI, with 106. Brynn McManus has recorded 105 career RBI.
- Lee is 4-for-7 (.571) with five RBI as a pinch hitter this season.
Liberty and FIU battle for the series victory on Sunday, with the game beginning at 11 a.m. in Miami.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brooke McNichols (7-2)
L: Mike, Gabby (2-10)
Batting:
2B: McManus, Brynn 1 ; Strickland, Maci 1 ; Lee, Dani 1
3B: Strickland, Maci 1
RBI: Carrasquillo, Alexia 1 ; Strickland, Maci 1 ; Nash, Savannah 1 ; Lee, Dani 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McManus, Brynn 1 ; Carrasquillo, Alexia 1 ; Strickland, Maci 1 ; Roberts, Brooke 1
Batting:
2B: Leah Clark 1
3B: Kally Meredith 1
RBI: Kally Meredith 2 ; Janelle Martinez 1 ; Leah Clark 2 ; Paige Miller 1 ; Kendall Catherwood 1 ; Jensen Luke 1 ; Kaleena Downing 1
SF: Kally Meredith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kally Meredith 1 ; Kennedy Byrd 1 ; Chloe Bedwell 1 ; Janelle Martinez 1 ; Leah Clark 1 ; Paige Miller 1 ; Riley Silvers 1 ; Kendall Catherwood 1 ; Mckenna Robbins 1 ; Kaleena Downing 1
SB: Kaleena Downing 1
CS: Paige Miller 1
HBP: Kendall Catherwood 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P
/ SoftballC/UTL
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P/UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballElla Fox: Why Liberty?
Wednesday, April 08
Rewriting History: "A program-defining moment that we’ll never forget”
Wednesday, March 25
Step Into My Office: Dot Richardson
Monday, January 26
Paige Doerr Talks About The Upcoming Softball Season
Friday, January 23