It was a pitcher's duel as expected.

No. 2 LSU baseball's Luke Holman and No. 1 North Carolina's Shea Sprague matched each other for the better part of the first four innings, allowing six combined hits in the Chapel Hill Regional winners bracket clash.

The Tigers chased Sprague first in the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, UNC responded in a big way. Vance Honeycutt smashed a three-run homer for the game's first runs and provided plenty cushion. The Tar Heels held on to down LSU 6-2 at Boshamer Stadium.

With the loss, LSU (41-22) falls to the losers bracket where it'll have a rematch with Wofford at 11 a.m. CT Sunday.

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LSU baseball pitcher Luke Holman dazzles yet again

Much like he has been all this season, LSU junior starting pitcher Luke Holman was nearly unhittable to start the game. This was a product of one hitter having your number.

The right-hander gave up just two hits, and neither of them were were hit hard  — didn't leave the infield — as Holman's command and location of his pitches was among the best it's been all season as he tossed 66 pitches and struck out seven through just four innings.

He made one mistake, leaving a fastball over the plate for Honeycutt, who's a good hitter and made Holman pay, but for the rest of his outing, he dazzled. Holman made it through 6⅔ innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with 11 strikeouts. But all four runs and two of the seven hits were from Honeycutt.

For the third straight start, Holman finished with at least seven strikeouts and the second time in his last five outings where he fanned 10.

LSU's offense draws key walks but couldn't find the timely base hit

LSU outhit North Carolina, a lineup littered with power and efficiency, through the first six innings.

The Tigers had seven base runners through the six frames but couldn't breakthrough, stranding them on base. When they loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, trailing 3-0, it was patience at the play that prevailed, as both Jared Jones and pinch hitter sophomore Ethan Frey, in his only at-bat of the day, drew walks to score a pair of runs.

LSU's .167 average (1-6) with runners in scoring position doomed it and was not the number you want to see when you're down.

Jay Johnson preserves bullpen arms for NCAA regional bracket

As North Carolina began tacking on runs, padding it leads late in the game, LSU coach Jay Johnson had to start looking ahead to Sunday, which if it plays out the way Johnson and the Tigers want it to, they'll have to play two games.

After Holman exited the game in the seventh, five relief pitchers came in. Samuel Dutton threw the most pitches at just 14, while Justin Loer, Will Hellmers and Aiden Moffett all threw eight pitches or less. All four pitchers, do to the light workload, should be available to pitch Sunday for the Tigers.

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU baseball falls to North Carolina in NCAA regional bracket