Laney is 2-8 against Ashley since May of 2019 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Laney Buccaneers are on the road again to play the Ashley Screaming Eagle at 6:30 p.m.
Last Tuesday, it was a hard-fought game, but Laney had to settle for an 8-7 defeat against Topsail. That's two games in a row now that Laney has lost by just one run.
Jake Foster was cooking despite his team's loss, going 1-for-3 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Another player making a difference was Jack Holliman, who scored two runs while going 1-for-3.
Meanwhile, Ashley had already won four in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 7.3 runs), and they went ahead and made it five on Tuesday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the team sidled past the Scorpions 3-2.
Cole Barnes spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered just two earned runs on four hits and racked up ten Ks. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't pitched less than five innings in seven consecutive pitching appearances.
On the hitting side, Quinn Bentley was excellent, scoring two runs while getting on base in all four of his plate appearances.
Laney's loss dropped their record down to 4-8. As for Ashley, their win bumped their record up to 13-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both teams have some strikeout artists on the roster. Laney has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 8 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Ashley struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.5. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Laney suffered a grim 8-0 defeat to Ashley in their previous meeting back in March. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Barnes, who didn't allow a single earned run and only one hit while striking out 12 over seven innings pitched. Now that Laney knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
