Coach John Smith and his Loyd Star Hornets (21-6) took care of business in quick fashion last week, knocking off Bay Springs 6-4 on Wednesday and then going on the road to beat the Bulldogs 13-2 on Thursday in the MHSAA 2A second round series between the schools.

Next up is a quarterfinal face off with the Puckett Wolves (21-6). Game one will be played at Loyd Star on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Game two will be at Puckett on Friday at 6:30 p.m. If a third game is needed, it’ll be hosted by Loyd Star on Saturday at 11 a.m.

It was Puckett who ended the season for Loyd Star last year with a 2-0 sweep in the second round. The Wolves then went on to be eliminated by Clarkdale in the quarterfinals in a series that went to three games.

Puckett faced little resistance in a second-round sweep of Lake High (7-2, 10-4) last week.

The Wolves and coach Jorga Wilson are led by eighth grader Raegan Hardin at the plate. Hardin bats for a .438 average at the dish and was named Offensive MVP of Region 6-2A.

Hardin can pitch if needed, but the Wolves are led in the circle by freshman hurler Layla Murphy, who has struck out 148 batters this season while giving up just 43 earned runs in 118 innings. Murphy was named MVP of the region.

Loyd Star sophomore Maddie Kate Britt boast the top batting average for the Hornets, with her .471 output at the plate. Sophomore pitcher Layla “Lights Out” Burt has struck out 145 batters for LS this season, allowing just 28 earned runs in 140 innings of action.

It’ll be a tightly contested series between two of the top eight teams remaining in 2A softball, a place that both teams expected to be at this point of the season. When you reach this level, the difference in winning and losing can be inches, something that Smith is reminding his team.

“We’ve got to get some runs on the board, minimize our errors, and win the third and fourth innings,” said Smith of the keys for the Hornets.

The winner of this series will face either Mize (20-11) or Pisgah (22-8) in a semifinal series next week. Two time defending state champion East Union (26-4) meets Union High (21-11) and Eupora (24-7) will meet Sebastopol (25-4) in the other quarterfinal matchups.