By David Shaw
sports@salisburypost.com
LANDIS ó Lake Norman’s baseball team didn’t need the luck of the Irish on Tuesday.
It had magician Nick Lomascolo on the mound ó and his dancing assortment of pitches was more than enough to befuddle host South Rowan 6-1.”That’s one of the finest pitching performances I’ve ever seen,” South coach Thad Chrismon said after his team fell to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the NPC. “He really used the whole strike zone. He set people up well. It’s like there was a purpose behind every pitch.”Lomascolo, a senior lefty who has signed with Catawba, collected 15 strikeouts and yielded only a pair of infield hits in six innings. He blended an effective fastball with a butterfly changeup, an occasional slider and an unhittable curve.
“His curveball was nasty,” said Maverick Miles, a .571 hitter and the only South starter who didn’t strike out. “And his fastball’s improved. He’s by far the best pitcher we’ve faced this year.”
Lomascolo struck out the side in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. He fanned eight straight batters during one stretch.
“I could throw my curve for a strike any time I wanted to,” he said. “I was just trying to keep them guessing, keep them off-balance. And after the first two innings ó once I figured out the ump’s zone ó I just worked on painting the corners.”
Watching Lomascolo pitch was like watching Picasso paint ó the pieces didn’t always fit together, but the final product was a masterpiece.
“Lom-O was effectively wild,” Lake Norman coach Robert Little said after the Wildcats (4-1) captured their league opener. “He was all over the plate, but he was always getting strikes.”
Losing pitcher Alex Ingold had no such luck. The junior right-hander allowed single runs in each of the first three innings, then was hit for three more in the top of the sixth.
The pitch the proved most damaging was a 3-2 fastball on the low-inside corner to Lake Norman’s Tyler Lewis. The No. 9 hitter pulled a two-out delivery down the first-base line and into the rightfield corner for a two-run triple, giving the guests a 5-1 lead.
“That was actually a good pitch,” South catcher Preston Penninger said. “He hit his spot. But the guy just put a good swing on it, and that probably determined the ballgame.”
Added Little: “Tyler did a good job. That’s the difference between making a play and not making a play. With two strikes and two outs, he made one right there.”
Leadoff batter Kevin Gradert followed with a sun-aided RBI double that eluded center fielder Blake Houston and closed the scoring.
South scored its run in the bottom of the third when Steve Erwin crossed on Houston’s infield hit. The Raiders rallied again in the seventh against a pair of Lake Norman relievers but stranded two runners when J.D. Bare went down swinging to end the game.
“I’m disappointed we didn’t put the ball in play more,” Chrismon said. “We struck out 18 times. I wish we’d made them earn the outs more than we did.”
Gradert and Ross Whitley each had a couple of hits for the winners. But when they rolled the closing credits, Lomascolo was clearly the leading man.
“He’s our horse,” Little said. “We know it, and every other team knows it. He’s just dialed in right now.”
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NOTES: Lomascolo pitched a no-hitter against Asheboro in his previous start. The 15 Ks were one short of his career high, set last season against Statesville. … Miles went 0-for-2 after starting the season 8-for-12 with five extra-base hits. … South plays at Salisbury on Thursday.