DENTON (3/31/07) - A seven-run third inning propelled the North Texas softball team to an 8-2 victory against FIU on Saturday afternoon at Lovelace Stadium. The Mean Green lost the seond game of the doubleheader, 6-4.

The Mean Green (14-23, 6-5 Sun Belt) won its first-ever game in the series against the Golden Panthers. FIU (14-24, 2-6 Sun Belt) holds a 13-1 lead in the series with the Mean Green. NT tied the school record for most wins in conference play with six. The 2004 and 2005 teams each won six Sun Belt games.

North Texas outhit FIU in the first game, 7-5. The Mean Green used home runs by Katya Muller and Susan Waters to score three of its runs. In the second game, FIU outhit the Mean Green, 8-5, and used a two-run homer by Kim Rodriguez to break a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning. NT left 12 runners stranded in the loss and were unable to knock home runners with the bases loaded in the second and third innings.

Junior Kristina Fowler went 1-1 in the two games. She picked up her fourth victory in the first game, allowing only two runs off five hits. She gave up a two-run homer in the third inning and then held FIU to just one hit the rest of the way. With NT holding a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning of the second game, Fowler relieved starter Ashley Lail and gave up a solo home run in the fifth and a two-run shot in the seventh.

The Mean Green contained most of its offense to one inning in the 8-2 victory. Five of NT’s seven hits were recorded in the third inning, including two hits by sophomore Kadie Platt. Junior Lauren Bergstrom started the inning with her first triple of the season, a shot down the right field line. After an RBI single by Platt, Muller knocked the sophomore home with her second home run of the season. The home run gave NT a 3-2 lead. Senior Christen Jonse knocked a ball off the wall in center field to drive in two more runs for the Mean Green, and Platt capped the inning with her second RBI single of the inning.

Waters hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to cap the scoring at eight runs for the Mean Green. The home was the senior’s 13th of the season and her eighth in as many games. In the last week, she has hit six home runs. Her 13 home runs is five shy of her single-season school record that she set last year.

Muller hit her second home run of the day in the second game, tying the score at 3-3 in the fourth inning. In that same inning, Jonse gave the Mean Green its second lead of the day with an RBI single. The senior led the Mean Green offense with three hits in the two games. Jonse and Muller each knocked in three runs in the two games.

North Texas returns to action on Sunday, April 1 when it rounds out play against FIU with a single game at 12 pm at Lovelace Stadium.