SYLVA—A Smoky Mountain High School baseball pitcher had one of the most memorable seasons in recent memory and has earned a performance listing in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Record Book.

        Mark Thompson of Smoky Mountain recorded 15 pitching victories against a single loss as his team advanced the whole way to the Western Regional series. He had five wins during postseason play alone and is the fifth pitcher in NCHSAA history to have 15 victories in a season.

        The last pitcher to earn 15 wins in a season was Robbie Bray of Charlotte Independence in 2004.

        The state record of 23 is held by Steve Streater of Sylva-Webster, which merged to form Smoky Mountain years ago. However, the current NCHSAA pitching restrictions were not in place so that may well be a record that will not be broken.

        Thompson pitched 91 innings on the season and had a 1.77 earned run average, striking out 119 and walking 41.

        Our thanks to coach Bradley Littrell of Smoky Mountain for providing the documentation for the achievement.