Hampton, Ga.---With a 12-4 loss, the Clark Atlanta University Lady Panthers softball team was eliminated from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after falling to Albany State Friday at the Gerald Matthews Complex.

“This was a tough loss for us as we could not get our bats going consistently,” said CAU Head Coach Lawanda Pearson.

CAU (20-24) Sophomore Elizabeth Handy cracked a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Lady Panthers an early 2-0 advantage. Albany State (26-25) took back the lead and never relinquished it after Vanessa Jones’ two-run blast over center field put the Lady Rams up 4-2. In the top of the third, the Lady Panthers added two runs, but ASU answered with three more runs to extend its lead to 7-4 capped by Kandis Banks’ three-run homer. The Lady Rams added five more insurance runs to stay alive in the tournament.

As a team, the Lady Panthers had four hits on 20 appearances at the plate while giving up 13 hits. Banks led Albany State with three RBIs on 2-for-4 from the plate while Handy finished with two RBIs for CAU.