LHS starter Tom Schuh delivers in the first inning. Schuh pitched a complete game in Lawrence's 2-0 victory against Olathe Northwest on Monday at Ice Field.

Funny that a starting pitcher named Tom Schuh should thrive on pulling the string on opposing hitters.

But that’s exactly what Lawrence High’s southpaw did Monday evening, feeding Olathe Northwest’s hitters a steady diet of offspeed pitches to the tune of seven strikeouts, two hits and a complete-game shutout in a dominating 2-0 victory for the Lions at Ice Field.

LHS coach Brad Stoll said his plan was to use three different pitchers in hopes of preparing for the three-game River City Invitational later this week.

Schuh was so good, though, Stoll never even had to make a trip to the mound. Instead, he watched from the dugout as Schuh outdueled Ravens ace Justin Ziegler, who has committed to play baseball next year at Bradley University, in a game that breezed by in a little more than 90 minutes.

“Tommy was pretty special tonight,” Stoll said. “He doesn’t say much. After the game he said, ‘I felt really good.’ I’m like, ‘No kidding, man.'”

Only once did Schuh face any significant threat from Northwest. After retiring 10 straight batters, a single and an error in the top of the fourth inning gave the Ravens their best chance to score. Schuh induced a flyout to center to end the inning and promptly retired the final 10 hitters of the game.

“The nice thing about Tommy is he’s great to play behind,” catcher Chase Muder said. “He’s real quick. Tommy was great on hitting his spots and everything.”

Offensively, the Lions got just enough timely hitting to reward Schuh for his outing.

LHS, which had at least one hit in every inning, didn’t break through until the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded, third baseman Clint Pinnick blooped a single just over first base into the outfield grass to score Tyler Bailey. An inning later, Devin Forio’s single to center plated Dorian Green for the second and final run of the game.

Muder went 3-for-3 with three singles and left fielder Jake Green added two hits.

For his part, Schuh said he wasn’t worried about the Lions’ lack of offensive production in the early innings.

“It was just a matter of me throwing up zeroes,” Schuh said, “and I trusted them to get the job done.”

Lawrence improved to 3-4 and will play Omaha Creighton Prep on Thursday at Hoglund Ballpark – the first of three games in three days.