WESSON — Ninth grade was the last time Loyd Star’s Ainsley Gennaro was on a team that beat Wesson at the Cobra’s ball park. Loyd Star’s 3-1 win Monday night snapped the streak for Gennaro, a senior. 

It was a huge win for the Hornets for their confidence. Head Coach John Smith said the team had lost two games this season while leading by two runs in the seventh inning. He tried to calm his nerves by finding a post to lean on in the dugout. 

“It feels good. We hadn’t beaten them here since my ninth-grade year. We swept them this year. We are at the middle of the season and playing better,” Gennaro said. “I think our team chemistry has gotten better and we pick up each other a lot better.”

Loyd Star struck first when Maddie Kate Britt advanced on a dropped third strike. Wesson’s catcher tried to throw down to first base but hit her in the helmet allowing ArryAnna Rushing to score. Gennaro singled to the second baseman to score the second run of the night. 

Wesson had an answer for Loyd Star in the bottom half of the first inning. Emileigh Woodson had an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1. It was the only run Wesson would score. 

In the top of the third inning, Gennaro singled again. This time she hit a blooper to center field which drove in Loyd Star’s third run. Loyd Star had the bases loaded in the inning but Woodson was able to make a great stop at third base to get the Cobras out of the jam. Gennaro finished the night with two hits and two RBIs although she almost had another hit later in the game but got too far underneath the ball. 

“Wesson’s pitcher throws me a lot of inside pitches and I hit better with the inside,” Gennaro said. 

In the bottom half of the inning, Wesson had a baserunner reach on an infield single. The base runner was erased when Kenzie Kay Lofton caught a high flyball at third base and slung the ball over to first to get the Cobra runner. 

Perhaps the best defensive play of the night came when Maddie Kate Britt caught a flyball in center field and then gunned down a Wesson runner at home plate in the fifth inning. Catcher Kaylin Hester was able to apply the tag on a bang-bang play to preserve Loyd Star’s 3-1 lead. 

Gennaro said the team has grown a lot over the course of the year. At first they weren’t sure where certain girls would be playing. She added she was proud of younger players like Chaney Williford.

It was fitting second baseman Williford made the last out of the night by scooping up a grounder and tossing over to Gennaro at first to end the game. 

“I’m really proud as a senior of our younger ones stepping up. Watching them step up has been really good,” Gennaro said. “Our second baseman didn’t get to play much last year. She is holding her own. Our right fielder Xia Townsend came in this year never starting. She has stepped up as a senior and has been a good asset for our team.”

Loyd Star (10-4) will play at Enterprise Friday night. Smith encouraged his girls as they head into the next game. Gennaro said they will need to hit better and not leave runners stranded. The Hornets had eight hits Monday night. 

“I think we can do it. We are getting in our groove a little bit,” Gennaro said. 

With softball season halfway over, Gennaro said everything is starting to become real for her. She said she has about 60 days until graduation. She first started playing for Loyd Star in seventh grade and has played under three different head coaches. 

Her plans after high school is to study biochemistry and forensic science possibly at Southern Mississippi and continue studying Pathology at Tulane University. 

“It is surreal,” Gennaro said. “I’m excited to see how far we can go and how we can improve as a team.”

Wesson (7-2) will play South Pike Tuesday at home and on the road Thursday.