Several local and area baseball teams will be playing Thursdayin the first round of the MHSAA regional state baseball playoffs.The games are played under the double-elimination format.

Loyd Star (Div. 6 No. 1) hosts a Regional 2A first round withWesson (Div. 6 No. 3), Lake (Div. 5 No. 2) and Newton (Div. 5 No.4).

Bogue Chitto (Div. 7 No. 4) and Enterprise (Div. 7. No. 3) areon the road for Regional 1A first round games. Bogue Chitto battleshost Stringer at 7 p.m. Enterprise tangles with Mize at 4 p.m. athost site Natchez Cathedral.

In Summit, North Pike is hosting a Regional 3A playoff series.Lawrence County hosts a Regional 4A series in Monticello.

Loyd Star, coached by Jonathan Breakfield, is16-7 on the season and fresh from winning a fourth straightdivision title. Newton meets Loyd Star in the late gameThursday.

“Newton is fast,” said Breakfield of tonight’s opponent. “Theyhave some big kids, a couple of pretty good pitchers. They will putthe ball in play. They have a kid named Norman who can hit.”

Breakfield expects his Hornets to be ready for the challengetonight. His starting lineup will be determined later today.

“I expect our kids to play with the same intensity we playedagainst St. Andrew’s,” explained Breakfield. “This is a big deal,the first round of the playoffs. We are real excited about it. Ihope we can be a good host. I hope people come in and say, ‘Thesepeople are nice,’ and how nice the facility is.”

Bogue Chitto, coached by Adam Moak,faces Region8 No. 1 seed and host Stringer at 7 p.m. Moak’s Bobcats are 5-10 onthe season.

“They (Stringer) are pretty strong,” said Moak. “It’s a biggame. It’s our first playoff game in three years. It’s good to beback in the playoffs.”

Expected to start tonight for the Bobcats are Blake Wallace atthird base, Steven Snow on the mound, Scotty Brown at catcher,Daniel Howard at second base, Joseph Hart at shortstop, MatthewMagee at first base, Layne Porter in left field, Seth Avants incenter field and David Moak in right field.

Hart leads Bogue Chitto in batting. Avants is the second highesthitter.

“We have to come out and play solid defense,” added Moak. “Andhit the ball.”

Enterprise (Div. 7 No. 3) tangles with Div. 8No. 2 Mize at 4 p.m. at Natchez Cathedral. Coach Kris Smith’sYellow Jackets are 9-11 on the season.

“We have to make the routine plays and cut down on the errors,”said Smith. “We need a good outing from our pitcher.”

Smith was unable to release his starting lineup due to adecision to be made on the starting pitcher.

Matt Floyd leads team with the best batting average, around.500.

“I hope we come out and play hard, hustle and make the plays,”added Smith. “I wish all of the county schools good luck in theirplayoffs.”

Wesson, coached by Hugh Knight,goes into thetournament with 16-5 record. Knight and the Cobras face a balancedLake team.

“They’re a good ballclub,” said Knight. “They play sounddefense. They are aggressive offensively. They have a goodpitcher.”

Knight will decide today whether Corey Puckett or Brett Selmanwill start for the Cobras. The remainder of Wesson’s lineupincludes Tyler Broome at catcher, Wade Williams at first base,Brandon Hood at second base. Micah Davis at shortstop and MasonWarren at third base. Playing the outfield will be Daniel Watson,Chance Peets, Brian Channell, Puckett or Selman.

“We have to play good defense,” explained Knight. “We’ve got tohave a good pitching performance. We have to put the ball in play.If we keep playing good defense, we have a chance.”

Wesson has tied the state record for double plays this year with30 according to Knight. Corinth set the state and national recordin 1995 with 30 double plays.