ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Louisiana Tech fell to No. 8 North Carolina A&T to drop into the loser's bracket before beating Marian on Friday at Bowl-A-Roll in Rochester, New York.
 
The 11th-ranked Bulldogs (84-46) started the day slow, with six opens through the first five frames of the traditional game. North Carolina A&T had nearly a 150-pin lead and looked to be on their way to an easy win. That is when LA Tech started to make a push.
 
Jenna Stretch, Rachel Ong, Kylee Trexler, Ariana Araujo and Allyson Sand stayed clean over the back half but came up just short 998-975. Stretch led the way with 222, followed by Ong at 209 and Trexler rolled a 200.
 
Tech took that momentum into the Baker set with one of the highest sets from all four regionals, tying the match with a 1,100-1,017 win. The Bulldogs shot 206, 204, 216 and 248 to hold a 93-pin advantage before closing with a 226.
 
The scoring continued to be high into the best-of-seven. The Aggies won the first game 226-193 and the 'Dogs tied it with a 226-212 game two. North Carolina A&T made it 3-1 with 237-217 and 235-194 games. That would force Tech to win three straight games to move into the winner's bracket.
 
LA Tech continued to fight and won game five 201-163. Game six would come down to the 10th frame. Both teams had an open within the first four frames, and the Aggies held a one-pin lead. From there, the pins started falling with each team connecting on the next four strikes. Tech extended it to five in a row and North Carolina A&T opened the door with a spare. However, a 3-6-10 by the Bulldogs allowed the Aggies to strike out and take the match with a 237-222 win.
 
Louisiana Tech would beat Marian in consecutive sets to move into the next round, but not without difficulties. The 'Dogs won the traditional 945-797, with Trexler and Stretch as the only bowlers in the plus. Trexler started with the front five before settling with a 256, and Stretch finished with a 205.
 
Tech continued their strong showing in Baker with a 245-160 win in game one. However, the Sabers made a push over the next two games to cut the lead down to 16, 203-171 and 224-188. The Bulldogs closed out the 1,017-964 wins with 203 and 210 compared to Marian's 180 and 197 over the final two games.
 
UP NEXT
Louisiana Tech will look to avenge the loss to North Carolina A&T when both teams square off at 8 a.m. Saturday at Bowl-A-Roll on BowlTV. The winner will have to beat No. 4 Youngstown State at 1:30 p.m. to force a winner take all best-of-seven Baker set to advance to the NCAA Championship.
 
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