ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – The Hampton University softball team fell 12-6 to Florida A&M in the consolation bracket of the 2012 MEAC Championships on Friday at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex and was eliminated.

The Lady Pirates, the No. 4 seed in the Northern Division, finish the season 25-33, a 12-win improvement over 2011, and advanced to the semifinals of the MEAC Championships.

Florida A&M advanced to the championship game, where it will face Bethune-Cookman at 1 p.m.

The Lady Rattlers picked up four runs in the bottom of the first inning, all with two outs, as FAMU took advantage of a couple Lady Pirate errors. Hampton answered in the top of the second inning, cutting the lead to 4-2 when senior Brooke Boykin (Riverside, Calif.) hit a two-run home run, her first of the season, to left field.

FAMU (28-28), which lost to Hampton 15-6 on Thursday in the quarterfinal round, added two runs in the bottom of the inning, taking a 6-2 lead after bringing in a pair of runs on an error.

The Lady Pirates picked up two more runs in the top of the third inning. Junior Adrianna Scott (Laurel, Md.) hit her first home run of the season to right field, a solo shot, before senior Sharde' Estep (Aquasco, Md.) added a solo shot to left field, her third of the year, to cut the lead to 6-4.

Whitney Robinson hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the third to give FAMU an 8-4 lead, before Tera Gainer drove in two more runs in the bottom of the fourth with a single to grow that lead to 10-4.

Senior Rebecca Magett (Grand Rapids, Mich.) singled up the middle to bring home a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, cutting FAMU's lead to 10-6.

But the Lady Rattlers scored twice in the bottom of the inning on a pair of RBI singles to take a 12-6 lead.

Freshman Jailynn Jackson (Virginia Beach, Va.) went 2.1 innings, striking out one. She finished the season with a 13-14 record. Senior Travonna Byrd (Newport News, Va.) struck out four in 3.2 innings on the mound.

Jackson and Byrd each struck out 13 batters over the course of the tournament.

Estep led the Lady Pirates at the plate, going 3-for-3 with an RBI. Magett and Boykin each drove in a team-high two runs.

Boykin, junior Shine Huwe (Green Bay, Wisc.) and junior Nina Ferguson (Plymouth, Minn.) were each named to the MEAC All-Tournament Team.

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.