University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
LSU
Tar Heels Fall, 6-3, To LSU In Texas Invitational Semifinal
February 13, 2010 | Softball
Feb. 13, 2010
AUSTIN --- No. 19/22 North Carolina returned to action against No. 13/18 LSU on Saturday night. Looking to bounce back from two consecutive losses Carolina played with determination, but in the end it was not enough as the Tigers prevailed 6-3.
Carolina manufactured an early run when Christine Knauer scored from a Constance Orr mishandled grounder back to the pitcher. Knauer reached base by bunting down the third base line and beating out the throw to first. She then stole second and advanced to third by tagging up on a deep fly ball to right field hit by Danielle Spaulding.
Senior pitcher Amber Johnson (0-2) battled out of early trouble to scathlessly escape the first inning. An error and base hit put Tiger runners on first and second base before Johnson forced three ground balls to keep the Tar Heels early lead in tact.
Johnson, who pitched eight strong innings last night against Texas, continued her strong performance in the Texas Invitational striking out the side in the second inning.
Carolina was able to put up another run in the third inning to extend the lead to two runs. Knauer once again reached base via an infield single and was driven in by a hard-hit Constance Orr single up the middle.
LSU battled back in the bottom half of the inning scoring a run of their own from a Rachel Mitchell single up the middle. LSU loaded up the bases, but Johnson forced a ground ball to third baseman Brittany Robinson who tagged third for the final out of the inning preserving Carolina's lead 2-1.
After a Carolina scoreless fourth inning, LSU pitcher Kirsten Shortridge helped her own cause by singling to right field to knock in a run and tie the game at 2-2.
Carolina once again responded with Christine Knauer scoring her third run of the game. She scored from second on a Danielle Spaulding line drive to center field.
An Ashley Langoni two-RBI home run over the left field fence gave the Tigers the lead. Right-handed Constance Orr entered to relieve Johnson at pitcher. LSU quickly went after Orr scoring two more runs increasing LSU's lead to 6-3.
The loss is Carolina's third in a row and brings the overall record is 1-3. Carolina now faces the loser of the DePaul/Texas game tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. (CT) in the 3rd Place Game.
