Luke Schmolke’s pitching, Bryton Lawson’s hit gets Lake Norman past Butler in 4A playoffs
After winning the Greater Metro 4A conference tournament last week, Lake Norman had a lot of momentum heading into the first round of the N.C. 4A state playoffs Tuesday.
But facing Butler at home, the Wildcats had to sweat out an extra inning 1-0 win.
In a 1-0 game it is no shocker that the bats were a little off for both teams, but what it is also a testament to is the exquisite pitching that was on display. Wildcats ace Luke Schmolke pitched seven innings, only giving up three hits and walking two batters. He added 13 strikeouts in what was an excellent outing on the mound.
“He’s definitely been our ace all year,” Lake Norman head coach Ty Wigginton said following the game. “There is no denying everything that he has accomplished and it is fun to watch him throw, that is for sure.”
Schmolke would mix in a variety of curveballs, sliders and fastballs that would catch the Bulldog batters swinging at pitches off the plate as well as watching strikes go right by them. It was a performance that was needed due to the lack of hitting early in the game for the Wildcats.
“I just wanted to put our team in a position to win,” Schmolke said. “I wanted to put our hitters in a good position to just be able to score one and get out of it and be able to move on to the second round.”
After leaving two runners stranded in the bottom of the seventh, the Wildcats came out swinging in the bottom of the eighth getting their lead runner in scoring position with just just one out. Then, Bryton Lawson, who was 0-3 until this point, came to the plate and hit one that fell in the outfield bringing Chase Wigginton home for the walk-off win.
“We were just waiting for our pitch,” Lawson said. “We weren’t swinging at theirs. We were waiting for our count and making them throw strikes, and he threw me that one.”
That one is all that was needed to propel the Wildcats into the second round to face either South Mecklenburg or East Forsyth.
THREE WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE
Luke Schmolke, Lake Norman: The Wildcats’ ace was everything the team needed him to be Tuesday -- and that was close to perfect. A couple of fatigue walks were the only flaws in the starting pitcher’s game as he threw 13 strikeouts and only allowed three hits in seven innings.
Bryton Lawson, Lake Norman: He came threw in the clutch when his team needed him. Being 0-3 on the night at the plate, it would be easy to hang your head and not focus, but Lawson did just the opposite as he found a pitch he liked and drove the lead runner home to close the game.
Ryan Wilson, Butler: Wilson pitched the entire game for the Bulldogs totaling five strikeouts during the game. He was a big part of why the Wildcat’s bats were cold in the early innings of the game. Lake Norman couldn’t get an eye for Wilson’s pitches for the majority of the game.
WORTH MENTIONING
▪ There was only a total of 10 hits during the course of the game, in part due to phenomenal pitching from both Schmolke and Wilson.
▪ This was a very clean game with just three total errors, two for Lake Norman and one for Butler.
WHAT’S NEXT
Lake Norman will await the winner of East Forsyth and South Mecklenburg in the second round of the NCHSAA 4A playoffs while Butler’s season will come to an end.
SCORING SUMMARY
Butler: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 – 0
Lake Norman: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 – 1
WP: Michael Naramore (1.0 IP, 2 K, 0 BB, 0 ER)
LP: Ryan Wilson (8.0 IP, 5 K, 2 BB, 1 ER)
