ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – A sacrifice fly from junior Margaret Wilkins in the bottom of the seventh inning helped the Hampton University softball team defeat Florida A&M 4-3 in the MEAC Championship quarterfinals Thursday evening at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
The Lady Pirates have won 13 of their last 15 games.
Hampton (32-23), the top seed from the MEAC northern division, advances to Friday’s semifinal matchup against Savannah State at 1 p.m.
The Lady Pirates came into the bottom of the seventh inning down 3-2, but senior Carla Trimble opened the inning with a double down the left field line; she later scored to tie the game at 3-3 after sophomore Bianca Vallejo reached on an error and advanced to third base.
Vallejo then scored the winning run on a sacrifice fly to center field from Wilkins.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning, when Florida A&M loaded the bases and pushed across a run on an RBI single from Genesis Lopez. The Lady Pirates held FAMU to just that one run, though, as the Lady Rattlers left the bases loaded.
Hampton tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, when senior Adrianna Scott (Laurel, Md.) singled to right field to bring in senior Shine Huwe, who was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
Tikey Strong gave FAMU a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth with an RBI single up the middle, but freshman Taylor McCoy (Riverview, Fla.) tied the game in the bottom of the frame after hitting her fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to center field.
Another Lopez single in the top of the seventh gave FAMU (20-31) a 3-2 lead.
Trimble led the Lady Pirates by going 2-for-3 at the plate.
Sophomore Jailynn Jackson, the MEAC Pitcher of the Year, picked up her 25th win of the season, scattering seven hits over seven innings of work. She struck out four batters, giving her 236 for the season.
She is 10 strikeouts shy of tying the program single-season record.