Hornets host Tartars in second round — Loyd Star will have homefield advantage in game 1 of series against Taylorsville

Published 10:29 pm Thursday, April 26, 2018

Loyd Star will host Taylorsville tonight in the second-round of the MHSAA baseball playoffs, with the Hornets holding homefield advantage.

Loyd Star has won their last nine games vs. 2A competition, and are 20-5 on the year with a 10-2 mark within their district. 

They dominated their first-round playoff series vs. Pelahatchie with a 11-1 and 9-1 victory.

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The Hornets are led at the plate by senior first baseman Cade Hodges, who is hitting .542 on the season. Hodges is slugging and has a 1.576 OPS for the season.

Logan Smith is hitting .412 for the Hornets with a .558 slugging percentage and a 1.071 OPS and James Beard is hitting .390 for the Hornets with a 1.286 OPS for the season.

As a team, Loyd Star comes into the series with a .331 batting-average and a .932 OPS.

The Hornets are led on the mound by Dane Smith and Dylan Case, both of whom have ERAs less than 2.2.

Smith, who threw six innings of one-run baseball in the first round against Pelahatchie, has thrown 41.1 innings on the year, only surrendering 23 hits. Smith has a WHIP of .87 and an ERA of 1.19. Smith has struck-out 50 hitters on the season.

Case, who threw seven innings of one-run baseball against Pelahatchie to send the Hornets to the second-round, comes into the series with a 2.12 ERA. He’s thrown 39.2 innings on the year, and has struck out 33 hitters.

Taylorsville comes into the series with a 15-10 record and a 6-2 mark in their district. The Tartars hit .280 as a team and have an .815 OPS.

Taylorsville is led at the plate by Raven Arrington who is hitting .390 on the season with a .568 on-base percentage and he possesses a 1.127 OPS for the year.

Chandler Kline is hitting .359 on the year, and he’s slugging .578 for the Tartars, good for a 1.089 OPS.

Branson Sharpley is hitting .309 on the season, but he has an on-base percentage of .955 for the year.

The Tartars have pitched well on the season and have a team-ERA of 2.49, but their two front-line starters have ERAs under one.

Kenner Todd has pitched 35.1 innings on the year for the Tartars and have struck out 35 hitters over that period. Todd has a .99 ERA on the season.

Walker Gamble has thrown 33.2 innings this year, and has only surrendered 23 hits. Gamble has a .62 ERA on the year.