FIU Softball Drops First Series of Season Against Delaware

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FIU Softball dropped its first series of the season against Delaware in the opening weekend of conference play. After allowing the Blue Hens to take the first two contests in late-inning comebacks, the Panthers won the final game.

Blue Hens Pull Away with Game in Final Frames

Trailing 2-0, the Panthers tied the game in the fifth. Zamya McBurrows and Kennedy Byrd both collected RBIs. However, the Blue Hens pulled away with five unanswered runs in the final two innings of the game.

Z comes through and we get on the BOARD😃 pic.twitter.com/gXvgBbcjgR

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 6, 2026

J’dah Girigorie got the start, recording four strikeouts, but after allowing two runs in the third, she was substituted by Brooke McNichols. McNichols pitched from the fourth through the sixth inning, surrendering five earned runs. Her record dropped to 3-1.

Delaware’s last two at-bats pretty much sealed their fate in this contest. After re-taking the lead in the fifth with a two-out RBI double, they exploded on offense in the sixth. They added extra runs on the scoreboard with a three-run homer and a solo homer to win it 7-2.

Kally Meredith had two of the Panthers’ four hits.

Panthers Fall Short of Victory

For the second straight game, Delaware started off the game with a lead due to a three-run homer in the second. In the top half of the third, FIU got a two-out two-run double from McBurrows to be down by just a run.

In the fifth, McBurrows delivered again with a two-run blast to put the Panthers up 4-3. Delaware tied things up later on in the fifth with a run and retook the lead for good in the sixth to eventually claim a 5-4 victory.

GO-AHEAD TWO-RUN JACK FOR ZAMYA 🫡 pic.twitter.com/OQ1VLVxcFS

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 7, 2026

With one last shot at winning in the seventh, Leah Clark hit a leadoff single and stole second. After consecutive outs, Clark was tagged out at third after attempting to steal the base.

McBurrows had a big day, going 3/3 with all four of FIU’s RBIs. If that wasn’t enough, she also made a spectacular catch in the fifth inning at shortstop.

WHO ELSE BUT ZAMYA AGAIN!? 🙀#SCTop10 | @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/c1diurAfL5

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 7, 2026

Meredith, Clark, and Kendall Catherwood each had multi-hit games. Overall, the team had 10 hits, but they also left eight runners on base. Byrd suffered the loss, dropping her record to 6-2. She gave up five earned runs in six innings while striking out four hitters.

Leah Clark Hits Two Three-Baggers

The Panthers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Janelle Martinez opened the scoring with a two-out RBI single. Paige Miller then hit an infield single, scoring Martinez and Byrd.

NELLY puts us on the board early 🆙 pic.twitter.com/5Sa2w5OnVx

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 8, 2026

At the bottom of the frame, the Blue Hens scored two off of Megan Villazon with a two-out two-RBI double. The Panthers added insurance runs throughout the game.

In the third, Clark hit a triple and then scored on an RBI single from Kennedy Byrd. Meredith extended the lead to 5-2 in the fourth with a two-out RBI.

LEAH THREE-BAGGER 3⃣ pic.twitter.com/8Mk3zYXLHb

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 8, 2026

Delaware’s closest opportunity to score again came in the sixth when they had two runners on with one out. However, Villazon retired the next two hitters she faced to put them away. Clark hit her second triple of the game in the seventh and then scored on her own after a wild pitch was thrown on an intentional walk attempt against Martinez.

STAND-UP TRIPLE for LEAH, her SECOND TODAY 🙀 pic.twitter.com/NF7qIBAijz

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 8, 2026

In her first-ever CUSA start, Villazon went the distance, striking out a season-high of eight while giving up just two runs and two hits. Her second complete game victory bumped her record up to 5-0.

Along with her pair of triples, Clark scored twice. Martinez went 3/3 with a walk, RBI, and run. The Panthers had a double-digit amount of hits for the second straight game, with 11. Eight different players contributed with at least one hit.

NCAA National RPI Rankings

In the first edition of the NCAA National RPI Rankings, the 19-5 Panthers sit in 36th place. Off to a historic start, they are the top-ranked team in Conference USA by a wide margin. Western Kentucky is the second-highest ranked team in CUSA with a ranking of No. 62.

recognized as one of the nation’s best 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8HBGE2q5yZ

— FIU Softball (@FIUSoftball) March 9, 2026

FIU is the fourth-ranked mid-major team, sitting behind McNeese (16), Grand Canyon (30), and Belmont (33). They have defeated several ranked teams this season, including No. 24 Georgia Tech twice, No. 41 Marshall, and twice against No. 46 Louisville.

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