LOYD STAR — Nathan Mills threw seven complete shutout innings to complete the sweep of Bogue Chitto Thursday night. The senior earned the 6-0 win for his team as the Loyd Star Hornets improved to 12-4 on the year in the second game of a double header. 

Loyd Star is now 3-0 in 2A-Region 7 play with a dominating series win over the Bobcats. They beat Bogue Chitto 11-6 Tuesday night in game one of the series, Thursday night they won 7-0 in game one of a double header and 6-0 in game two of the double header. 

“It is huge. It is our first district series win to get out of the way. It gets us to our next step and gets us in good seeding for the playoffs,” Mills said. “The guys played good defense behind me. I give them credit. If I fill the strike zone I can let them play good defense behind me.” 

Mills threw 85 pitches in the game and hit the strike zone 52 times, or 61 percent of pitches thrown were strikes. He gave up two hits, walked four batters and struck out six. Loyd Star’s defense made one error in the second game of the varsity double header. 

After the game, Mills said his arm was not tired but he would likely feel it in the morning. His recovery process is rest, ice and medicine if needed. 

Loyd Star opened the scoring in the second inning of the ball game. A double by senior Colby Terrell got the inning off to the right start but he was thrown out at third base. Casen Easterling reached base on a walk, stole second and advanced to third base on a wild pitch. He scored on a single by sophomore Jacob Smith. Senior Caleb Smith hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in junior Kayne Case to take a 2-0 lead. 

In the bottom of the third inning, Loyd Star took a 3-0 lead when Mills scored on a wild pitch. A fielder’s choice allowed Conner Cunningham to score to make it 4-0. Terrell scored on a flyout to make it 5-0. 

Loyd Star scored the sixth run of the game with Easterling hitting a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth to drive in Cunningham. 

Bogue Chitto’s Noah Gatlin threw six innings in the loss and gave up seven hits. Cunningham had two hits for the Hornets. 

Thursday Game 1, Loyd Star 7-0 Bogue Chitto 

Phillip Ross Spencer threw a seven inning complete game shutout in game one of the double header to help Loyd Star win 7-0 over Bogue Chitto. He struck out seven batters and gave up three hits. Spencer found the strike zone 53 times out of 88 pitches. 

Loyd Star got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with a bases loaded walk to take a 1-0 lead. The game broke open in the bottom of the fifth. Easterling drove in a run on an infield single. Smith drove in three runs on a single to centerfield and advanced to third to make it 5-0. He would score by stealing home to make it 6-0. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Loyd Star extended their lead to 7-0 when Cunningham doubled to left field and drove in Mills. Easterling led the team with three hits and an RBI in the game. 

Loyd Star will play Amite County next Tuesday and have 10 games left on the season. Time is running out for Mills. 

“It has gone by quickly. We are getting a bunch of wins and having fun with this great team,” Mills said. “I’m close with everyone. We are all best buddies. We show up each year and the young guys do their job and get better as the years come. I think we can go far. We have enough pitching and can make a good run in the playoffs. I want to make it to south state. It is a goal I have in mind.”