Florida A&M dropped into the loser bracket of the 2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Softball Tournament as arch rival Bethune-Cookman defeated the Lady Rattlers 4-3, Friday afternoon at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.

 

This was the Lady Rattlers first lost against a MEAC opponent this season.

 

FAMU (27-30) finished with 12 hits led by Rhianna Green with three hits, followed by Shayla Clark and Jasmine Donaldson who finished with two hits each. 

 

B-CU (20-34) tallied nine hits and were led by Ashley Taylor with a team high three hits, while Allison Garcia finished with two hits.

 

Garcia (16-24) picked the win for the Lady Wildcats, giving up two earned runs and striking out five in seven innings, while Amanda Reyes (19-18) took the loss for the Lady Rattlers  as she gave up nine hits, one earned run and struck out seven in seven innings of play.

 

Green gave FAMU a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as she scored on a Nicole Terryn hit to left field.  

 

The Lady Rattlers increased their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second as Joyce Harold scored on a Green double to left field.

 

B-CU took advantage of two FAMU infielder’s errors, scoring Ashley Taylor and Ashton Hinds, followed by a Sabrina Ferguson single to left field scoring Garcia, putting the Lady Wildcats ahead 3-2 in the top of the third.

 

An illegal pitch scored Garcia, increasing the Lady Wildcats lead to 4-2 in the top the fifth.

 

FAMU pushed across a run in the bottom of the sixth as Donaldson scored on a B-CU’s infielder error, for the 4-3 final.

 

The Lady Rattlers will return to action at 5:30 p.m. as they will take on the winner of the North Carolina A&T/Hampton match up.

 

Admission for the 2009 MEAC Softball Championship is $5 for children, students and seniors. Ticket prices for the entire tournament are $12.

 

For more information on MEAC Softball, log on to www.meacsports.com.