LAKE – In a battle between Lady Hornets Tuesday night, Loyd Star dominated Lake to claim a 5-0 win in the Class 2A state fastpitch softball playoffs.

Loyd Star (19-7), coach by Jan Delaughter, will return home to host Lake Thursday for the second game of the series starting at 5:30 p.m.

Loyd Star 5, Lake 0

Loyd Star managed to get its offense going in the top of the third and fourth innings, plating two runs each to secure a 4-0 lead. Julie Smith led the charge by racking up two RBIs.

The Lincoln County-based Lady Hornets punched in the final run in the seventh inning to secure a 5-0 victory.

Makenzie Smith had a stellar performance on the rubber for Loyd Star. Smith kept contact to a minimum, striking out 12 Lake batters and did not give up a walk in seven innings of shutout ball. She allowed Lake only three hits during the game.

Bryanna Luke suffered the loss with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Abigail Thornton and Johnna Norman were the leaders at the plate for Loyd Star with two singles each. Julie Smith contributed a triple. Meagan Poole provided a double and a single. Ali Gartman, Madison Jones and Shelby Smith had a single each.

Bryanna Luke, Melanie McMillan and Taylor Duncan paced Lake’s offense with a single apiece.