The Laney Buccaneers will take on the Ashley Screaming Eagle at 6:30 p.m. on Friday. The two teams are out to turn their luck around after having lost tight contests in their previous games.
Laney easily dispatched West Brunswick on Tuesday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Buccaneers fell just short of West Forsyth by a score of 8-6 on Wednesday. The loss was the Buccaneers' first of the season.
Logan Gainger was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: he struck out seven batters over 4.2 innings while giving up just two earned runs off three hits.
On the hitting side, Owen Gore and Carston Wedemeyer stepped up to the plate in a big way. Gore went 2-for-4 with three RBI, one run, and one double, while Wedemeyer went 3-for-4 with two runs and one double. That double marked the first that Gore has hit this season.
Meanwhile, Ashley was not able to break out of their rough patch on Wednesday as the team picked up their fifth straight defeat. They were two runs away from ending the streak, but they lost a 5-3 heartbreaker at the hands of South Iredell.
Elijah Setzer put in work while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, tossing five innings while giving up just one earned run off four hits. That's the fewest earned runs he has allowed since back in March of 2025. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in all three of his plate appearances with one triple and one RBI.
Setzer wasn't the only one making solid contact as two players wound up with at least one hit. One of them was Jahmeer Damon, who went 2-for-3 with one stolen base, two RBI, and one run.
Having lost for the first time this season, Laney fell to 5-1. As for Ashley, their loss dropped their record down to 1-5.
Laney's speedy runners might be the difference in Friday's game. The Buccaneers have been swiping bases left and right this season, having averaged 3.5 stolen bases per game. It's a different story for Ashley, though, as they've been averaging an even more impressive 1.2 stolen bases. Will they be able to secure the bases, or will Laney continue to outrun the ball?
Everything went Laney's way against Ashley in their previous matchup back in May of 2025, as Laney made off with a 10-4 victory. Will the Buccaneers repeat their success, or do the Screaming Eagle have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
