LOYD STAR — A five-run rally in the third inning propelled the Loyd Star Hornets to a 13-2 win over the Bogue Chitto Bobcats in a 2A-Region 7 Softball game Thursday night. Bogue Chitto was the first team to get on the board. 

Abigail Holder, a sophomore at Bogue Chitto, started off the game with an infield single and getting to first base. Bogue Chitto senior Taylor Jackson bunted Holder to second and reached first base on an error as Holder scooted down to third base. 

Holder then stole home to put the Bobcats up 1-0. Jackson advanced to third and then scored on a passed ball to make it Bogue Chitto 2-0 after the top of the first. Loyd Star responded with a two-run double off the bat of  Adi Holcomb, a freshman, to tie the ball game up. Avery Sellers, a junior at Loyd Star, said it was the first runs they had given up to Bogue Chitto in a while. 

“We were a little hot headed in the dugout. They hadn’t scored on us in a while,” Sellers said. “We came back and scored two runs. As long as we have a good attitude everything works out.” 

Loyd Star shutout the Bobcats for the remainder of the game. Bogue Chitto managed three hits on the night with Holder getting two infield singles and Jacey Frazier, a senior, had a single hit to center field. 

In the bottom of the third inning, a walk and an error put two Loyd Star runners on the bases for Sellers to step up to the plate. She hit the second pitch she saw to the centerfield gap scoring two runs and getting to second base for the double. 

Loyd Star senior Abby Burnette drove in three more runs on a single to center field and moved over to second on an error in the inning.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Holcomb lasered a single between third base and shortstop to drive in the eighth run of the game. Sellers drove in two more runs on a double to center field to make it 10-2 in the bottom of the fourth. Madison McKinzie, a junior, singled in a run to extend the lead to 11-2. Bogue Chitto finally found the third out to get out of the inning. 

Loyd Star finished off the game in the bottom of the fifth with three hits and a walk. Chloe Rodriquez, a junior, finished off the game with a two run double to center field to end the game 13-2. 

Holcomb finished the night with three hits, two stolen bases and three RBIs while Sellers finished with two hits and four RBIs. Sellers said it felt good to help her team win. 

“I put in a lot of hard work and I’m glad I got to score for my team,” she said. “The key for me is maintaining a good attitude. If you think you are nervous you won’t play as well. You have to have confidence and it helps.” 

Loyd Star was not perfect in the game committing two errors but they bounced back to win. Layla Burt, a freshman pitcher, threw five innings allowing just three hits, walking one better and striking out 10 batters. Of her 74 pitches, 50 were strikes. 

Bogue Chitto issued 10 walks, committed four errors and gave up eight hits in the loss. The Bobcats fell to 0-4 in district play. 

The win moved Loyd Star to 10-6 overall and a 2-0 district record. Loyd Star plays West Lincoln next Tuesday in a district game and has eight games remaining before the playoffs start. Sellers said people believed they wouldn’t be as good this year after losing seniors from last season’s state runner-up team. 

“We can accomplish anything we put our minds to. We need to work hard and take it one day at a time,” Sellers said. “When we went to the state championship game we didn’t play the way we envisioned. We are coming for revenge and to take it this year.”

The junior said she has played softball since t-ball and has stuck with the game. 

“I just love being a part of the team,” Sellers said. “We are all best friends. It is more than the game. It is the friendships on the team.”