ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – After upsetting a top seed earlier in the day, the Hampton University softball team upended Florida A&M 15-6 in five innings in the quarterfinal round of the 2012 MEAC Championships on Thursday evening at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

The Lady Pirates (25-31), the Northern Division's No. 4 seed, advanced to Friday's semifinal round, where they will face Bethune-Cookman, the Southern Division No. 2 seed, at 1 p.m.

Hampton wasted no time, pushing across five runs in the top of the first inning, despite recording just two hits. The first run came when sophomore Margaret Wilkins (Tustin, Calif.) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in junior Nina Ferguson (Plymouth, Minn.).

Senior Rebecca Magett (Grand Rapids, Mich.) then doubled to right field to bring home two runs to give the Lady Pirates a 3-0 lead, before freshman Kerissa Burruel (Phoenix, Ariz.) made it 4-0 with a sacrifice fly to right field.

Magett scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.

Florida A&M scored in the bottom of the inning on an error to cut Hampton's lead to 5-1, but the Lady Pirates broke the game open in the top of the second inning when Wilkins cracked a three-run home run to left field, her third of the season, to put Hampton up 8-1.

After FAMU scored once in the bottom of the second on an Addie Dozier RBI single, the Lady Pirates pushed across four runs in the top of the third. Junior Shine Huwe (Green Bay, Wisc.) hit a two-run home run – her ninth of the season and second of the day – to left-center field, before Magett drove in two more with a double up the middle to put Hampton up 12-2.

A Tera Gainer sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third cut Hampton's lead to 12-3, but Huwe got that run back in the top of the fourth with an RBI single, scoring junior Adrianna Scott (Laurel, Md.) and giving Hampton a 13-3 lead.

FAMU scored three times in the bottom of the fourth, cutting Hampton's lead to 13-6. Alyssa Weaver had the big blow of the inning, bringing home two runs with a double.

The Lady Pirates scored the last two runs of the game in the top of the fifth, starting when junior Kelsei Saunders (Suffolk, Va.) reached on an error and freshman Bianca Vallejo (Chandler, Ariz.) scored on the play.

Junior Carla Trimble (Riverside, Calif.) singled to left field to give Hampton the final 15-6 advantage.

Freshman Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) struck out six in 3.1 innings of work, while senior Travonna Byrd (Newport News, Va.) added three strikeouts in 1.2 innings on the mound.

Magett went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Wilkins was 2-for-3, and they both drove in four runs. Wilkins also scored three times.

Huwe went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs.

For more information on Hampton University softball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.