The Enterprise Yellow Jackets will need to pick themselves up off the mat and respond in a big way on Saturday at home if they’re to keep the 2024 baseball season alive.

On Thursday in Smith County, the Taylorsville Tartars (18-10) sprinted out to a quick 4-0 lead and rode a five-inning no-hit effort from junior pitcher Ford Matthews to a 10-0 win over the Yellow Jackets (19-12) from Lincoln County.

The game was the opener of the MHSAA 1A quarterfinal matchup between the schools.

Matthews is a veteran, as he saw action as a playoff starter in the field on the 2021 2A state title winning team from Taylorsville during his eighth-grade season.

On Thursday, he pounded the strike zone and struck out seven batters while only walking one.

Defensive errors cost Enterprise as they committed six as opposed to one by the Tartars.

EAC pitcher Kelly Burgess struck out seven and walked two. Just three of the 10 runs plated on his watch were earned as THS got six hits against him. Sophomore Hayden Teaster faced two batters in relief of Burgess, striking out one and walking one.

Enterprise will host game two on Saturday at 7 p.m. with the hope of winning a game to extend the series to Monday, when Taylorsville would host a third and deciding game.

Pitching wise, Taylorsville still has sophomore Noah Westbrook available, another player that saw action while in junior high for a state title winning team. The Tartars can also call on Terry Barnes, who leads the team in strikeouts with 69, a total that he rang up in just over 25 innings of work.

Enterprise coach Austin Hood can counter with sophomore Ryder Martin, one of the top arms on the Jacket’s staff along with fellow sophomore Cooper Jordan.

Resurrection Catholic (23-5) lost 3-2 to Ethel (23-9) on Thursday in game one of their quarterfinal series. The winner of that series will meet the winner of EAC and Taylorville in the 1A semifinals next week.