Don't write off Lake Norman baseball in the next round either

Lake Norman's baseball team had never won a playoff game before this season.

Now the Wildcats have won a pair and are in the 3A state playoffs' Round of 16.

They earned their place, too, beating last year's 3A state runner-up Southeast Guilford 6-5 in the first round followed by Tuesday night's 5-3 come-from-behind win over Southwest Guilford, the No. 2 seed from the Piedmont Triad Conference.

Lake Norman faces a familiar opponent in the next round. They travel to Granite Quarry to battle North Piedmont Conference champion East Rowan (24-2).

The Wildcats (13-13) finished tied for sixth in the NPC, but owned the head-to-head tiebreaker with Carson and North Iredell for the league's last playoff berth.

They HAD to win their last two games of the regular season just to get in, so the Wildcats have essentially been in playoff mode for about two weeks.

"That sense of urgency at the end of the season has carried us these past two games," Lake Norman's Joe Faist said following the Southwest Guilford victory.

Lake Norman is getting contributions from everyone.

Garrett Braun, Tyler Lewis and Eric Manser each homered and Nick Lomascolo struck out 13 in the Wildcats' first-round victory.

Jordan Farrell almost hit for the cycle in the second round. His sixth-inning leadoff triple set the stage for the go-ahead runs. Right fielder Donnie Burt's diving grab on a line-drive to right-center prevented Southwest Guilford from taking an early 2-1 lead, possibly more.

And sophomore Scottie Williams, making his first playoff start Tuesday, pitched solidly - not mention picked off three baserunners -- before giving way to Ross Whitley with the game knotted at 3-all in the bottom of the fifth. Whitley slammed the door on the Cowboys. He didn't allow a single hit over the final three innings. Whitley also struck out six of the 11 batters he faced.

I may be naive enough to believe this, but I think Lake Norman may just pull off the stunner of all stunners Friday. They're playing well. They're confident. And East Rowan, winner of 20 straight, is due for a loss.

My prediction: Lake Norman 5, East Rowan 4; Wildcats move on to the state quarterfinals