The Lake Norman Wildcats will head out on the road to square off against the West Rowan Falcons at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Lake Norman is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road.
Last Monday, Lake Norman didn't have quite enough to beat Cox Mill and fell 3-2.
Riley Furrow was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out nine batters over five innings while giving up just one earned (and one unearned) run off two hits.
At the plate, Lake Norman saw two different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Carson Cherry, who scored a run and stole two bases while going 1-for-3.
Even though they lost, Lake Norman didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 12 strikeouts. That's the most strikeouts they've managed all season.
Meanwhile, West Rowan beat Central Cabarrus 10-6 on Tuesday. The win made it back-to-back victories for West Rowan.
Cole Blevins made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he pitched an inning while giving up no earned runs or hits (he also didn't allow any walks). Blevins has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than two walks in four consecutive pitching appearances. Blevins was also big at the plate, scoring a run and stealing a base while getting on base in four of his five plate appearances.
In other batting news, Maddox Moore was a standout: he scored three runs while getting on base in three of his five plate appearances. Another player making a difference was Gage Scruggs, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4.
Lake Norman's loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 10-6. As for West Rowan, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 matches, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Wednesday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Lake Norman has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8.5 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like West Rowan struggles in that department as they've been averaging 6.9. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Lake Norman couldn't quite finish off West Rowan when the teams last played back in April of 2023 and fell 7-5. Thankfully for Lake Norman, Lucas Graham (who pitched two innings while giving up no earned run off one hit (he also only allowed one walk)) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
