ARLINGTON, Texas - Louisiana Tech lost to No. 10 Sam Houston in the NCAA Regional finals at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday.

The seventh-ranked Bulldogs quickly took a lead on fourth-seeded North Carolina A&T in the morning elimination match. The Aggies made their move in the fourth and fifth frames by rolling 10 consecutive strikes and had a 60-pin lead. Tech held steady and only had two openings for the remainder of the game, but NC A&T wouldn't make it easy for the Bulldogs to make a comeback.

Still down 60 heading into the ninth, Tech capitalized on four opens by NC A&T in the foundation frame. Kylee Trexler, Danielle Jedlicki, and Allie Leiendecker closed out the 10th with seven strikes to put the Bulldogs on top 1,013-968. Trexler led all bowlers with a 225, while the sister duo of Abbie and Allie Leiendecker rolled games in the plus at 217 and 205, respectively. Patricia Rosales anchored the lineup with a 190.

North Carolina A&T took advantage of two Tech opens in the first game of the Baker set to take an 11-pin lead after the Bulldogs rolled a 201. LA Tech started to close frames and won game two by 33 pins with a 215. The Bulldogs continued to build upon their lead with a 223 and 203 before closing the match with a 243, giving them a 1,085-940 win and the match 2-0.

That would set up a rematch with Sam Houston in the regional finals, and LA Tech had to win to force a decisive best-of-seven match to advance to the NCAA Final Four.

Tech quickly jumped out to a 30-pin lead and would maintain that throughout the game. A 262 by Ramita Samlong of the Bearkats and two opens by the Bulldogs in the 10thg would make the game close, but Tech would come away with a 1,045-1,023 win. Led by Rosales' 254, four Bulldogs would finish in the plus. Danielle Jedlicki shot a 223, Trexler had 219, and Abbie Leiendecker rolled a 203.

Tech had every opportunity to win the Baker set, but six opens in the first three games would be costly. The Bearkats would take a 41-pin lead after the Bulldogs shot 185 in the opening game. Tech closed the gap to 31 with a clean 234 but had four opens in a 160 game, which would be the difference in the set. Tech started with the front four before a nine-pin ended their run in game four, and they would settle for a 258. After cutting the deficit in half, Tech gave it their all with a 253, but Sam Houston would shoot a 236 to take the set 1,110-1,090.

The Bulldogs would run out of gas, and Sam Houston continued to hit their mark and take the best-of-seven in four games, 245-181, 213-190, 204-178, and 224-211, giving the Bearkats the regional finals win 2-1.

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Louisiana Tech will finish the season with the USBC ISC/ITC Nationals at Kingpin Lanes in Jeffersontown, Ky., on April 17-20.

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