Lake Norman has won 11 straight games at home (dating back to last season), while West Rowan has won 11 straight on the road, but those streaks won't matter much on Monday. The Wildcats will welcome the Falcons at 6:30 p.m. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (Lake Norman 3.4, West Rowan 3.7) so any runs scored will be well earned.
On Wednesday, Lake Norman needed a bit of extra time to put away Cox Mill. They skirted past the Chargers 6-5. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Wildcats have posted against the Chargers since May 5, 2022.
Caden Beaver looked comfortable as he tossed two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, Lake Norman saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carson Beaver, who went 2-for-4 with one RBI.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask West Rowan). They blew past Concord 16-1 on Friday. Considering the Falcons have won seven matches by more than five runs this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Brant Graham looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single earned run and allowed only two hits over four innings pitched. He has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in three consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Ben Koontz and Brody Pope did most of the damage at the plate: Koontz fired off two home runs, seven RBI, and three runs while going 4-for-4, while Pope went a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, four runs, and three RBI. Those three runs gave Koontz a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Carter Durant, who scored two runs while going 1-for-2.
West Rowan was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .441. That was just more of the same: they've now posted a batting average of .345 or higher in four consecutive contests.
West Rowan has been performing incredibly well recently as they've won eight of their last nine games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 9.1 runs over those games. As for Lake Norman, their win bumped their record up to 14-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lake Norman has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.6 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Rowan struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 7.5 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
