The North Brunswick Scorpions will square off against the Laney Buccaneers at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. North Brunswick's hitters haven't had much luck over their past three matchups, but Friday's contest will give them a chance to turn things around.
North Brunswick took a loss when they played away from home on Friday, but their home fans gave them all the motivation they needed on Tuesday. They had just enough and edged out South Brunswick 2-1. The win continues a trend for the Scorpions in their matchups with the Cougars: they've now won four in a row.
Tyler Kelly
| 03/18/25 vs Topsail | 5 |
| 03/03/25 vs Gray's Creek | 2 |
| 02/28/25 vs South Columbus | 2 |
| 03/25/25 vs South Brunswick | 1 |
Tyler Kelly looked comfortable as he tossed three innings while giving up no earned runs off one hit. He has become a key player for North Brunswick: the team is 4-2 when he allows at most two hits, but 1-4 otherwise.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Aydean White, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-2.
Meanwhile, Laney won against Hoggard on Friday with six runs and they decided to stick to that run total again on Tuesday. Laney never let New Hanover get on the board and left with a 6-0 victory. Considering the Buccaneers have won five games by more than five runs this season, Tuesday's blowout was nothing new.
TJ Ziermann made a big impact while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, keeping things locked down with no earned runs or hits while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Those 12 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 1-for-3 with one triple and two RBI.
In other batting news, Owen Gore was excellent, scoring a run and stealing three bases while getting on base in two of his four plate appearances. Those three stolen bases gave him a new career-high. JB Brooks was another key player, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
Laney pushed their record up to 6-4 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.0 runs on average over those games. As for North Brunswick, their win bumped their record up to 5-6.
North Brunswick couldn't quite finish off Laney when the teams last played back in April of 2024 and fell 5-3. Can North Brunswick avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
