WASHINGTON – Lawrence Academy got a bye in the first round of the Tarheel Independent Conference tournament.

The Lady Warriors finally got onto the field Tuesday afternoon when they slipped by fourth-seeded Pungo Christian Academy 8-3.

Lawrence, who is the defending TIC regular-season and tournament champion, started the scoring with two in the first and held on for the victory.

With two outs, senior Jodi White singled to left. She took second on a passed ball, stole third and scored on a passed ball that was the fourth ball to Kendall Street.

Street then came around to score when Lauren Rea reached on a two-base error that put Lawrence ahead 2-0.

Pungo got on the board in the top of the second when senior Hunter Johnson singled to left and moved to second when Brinkley Johnson drew a walk.

The runners advanced on a Chantel Fortescue groundout before Hunter Johnson scored on a Breatte Garrison groundout.

Brinkley Johnson scored on a Kayla single to make it 2-all.

Lawrence took the lead for good with a pair of marks in the bottom of the second inning.

Again with two out, the Warriors got back-to-back singles from Sarah Capehart and Ruth Stotesbury. Capehart went to third on Stotesbury’s single and scored on a wild pitch that sent Stotesbury to third.

Senior Jessica Johnston then had one of her three hits on the day to send Stotesbury home and give Lawrence a 4-2 advantage.

PCA got their final run in the top of the fourth frame when Brinkley Johnson was hit by a pitch, went to second and third on wild pitches and scored on a Fortescue RBI-groundout that made it 4-3.

Lawrence added their final scores in the bottom of the fourth.

Lee Anne Eubanks singled to center, stole second and took third on a passed ball. Ashtyn Mizelle then reached on a dropped third strike and stole second.

A single by Capehart scored Eubanks and sent Mizelle to third. Mizelle scored on Stotesbury’s RBI-groundout and Capehart came home on Johnston’s RBI-single. Johnston stole second, took third on White’s groundout and scored on an RBI-single by Kendall Street that made it 8-3.

Johnston cruised on the mound, striking out seven while walking one and hitting one batter. She surrendered just three hits in picking up her tenth victory of the season.

Johnston led the Warriors with a 3-for-4 day at the plate while Capehart was 2-for-3. Street checked in at 1-for-2 on the day while Stotesbury, White and Eubanks added the other hits.

The Warriors advanced to Wednesday’s TIC championship.