'It's amazing': Laney baseball shuts out Corinth Holders to advance to state championship
Wilmington — Laney baseball is state championship bound for the first time in 15 years.
The No. 3-seeded Bucs (25-5) left no doubt Saturday, May 22, shutting out No. 4 Corinth Holders 4-0 to win Game 3 of the NCHSAA 4A East regional championship.
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Laney pitcher Jason Sproull didn't blink on the mound, tossing 10 strikeouts in the shutout victory that sends the Bucs to next week's 4A state title game against West champion T.C. Roberson.
"To put it all together this year its honestly amazing," the junior said. "To get out here and finish it, to do what I do best, is great."
LANEY BASEBALL Laney baseball sprints past Corinth Holders in Game 1 of regional championship series
The Laney High School baseball team defeated Corinth Holders 4-0 to win the NCHSAA 4A East regional championship series on Saturday, May 24, 2025.
Sproull was hot at the plate as well, logging two RBIs as Laney jumped to an early 3-0 lead. It was the Bucs' standout defense, led by Sproull's effort on the mound, that lifted the team to the definitive win.
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"He's one of the best pitchers in the state," Laney coach Justin Bradley said of Sproull. "Just a dude that you can hand the ball to and just know that he's gonna go out there and compete his butt off."
Ziermann continued his hot streak, going 3-for-3 as the Bucs tallied seven total hits. The Pirates (26-5) began the game with Brayden Driver on the mound. The junior threw nine strikeouts in five innings. Ace pitcher Briggs McKenzie started Game 2, delivering 11 strikeouts as the team rolled to a decisive 7-1 victory.
But in the series' championship game, when it mattered most, Laney came to play.
"To see it manifest and become real … I really don't have words for it," Bradley said of his team's journey this spring. "They played their hearts out."
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Bradley is no stranger to state title games. The former Ashley and UNCW baseball standout helped the Screaming Eagles make their first state championship appearance in 2007.
Laney last played for a state championship in 2010. The Bucs, who finished sixth in the conference that season, shocked the 4A bracket as they collected a state title trophy in a series sweep over East Forsyth.
Laney faces T.C. Roberson in the best-of-three state championship series slated for May 30-31. The regional champs will play in Burlington or Holly Springs.
"Just play Laney baseball," Sproull said of the Bucs' mentality going into the state championship matchup. "That's what we've been doing all year, and we're not going to change at all."
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Laney baseball shuts out Corinth Holders to advance to 4A state championship
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