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The Huntland High School Hornets beat the Fayetteville Tigers 10-0 at home Monday for their fourth win of the season.

The Hornets took an early lead in the game and pulled away with an eight-run fifth inning to secure the district victory via the mercy rule.

Huntland head baseball coach Brent Davis said that the win was a team effort with good things happening in all three facets of the game.

“In the field, we played much cleaner. I think we had one mistake in the outfield just because it was slick,” he said. “In the infield, everything was clean tonight, and that’s what we’ve got to have. At the plate, our approach was a little better. We got hits together when we needed them, and Daltyn (Howell) threw a heck of a game on the mound.”

The Hornets got their first run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Blaine Counts to bring Eli Wiggs around to score.

They scored again in the bottom of the third as Wiggs reached base on a fielding error, stole second and raced home following an error on a ball hit by Trace Morris to make it a 2-0 game.

The Tigers recorded a pair of hits at the start of the fourth inning to put runners at the corners with nobody out, but Howell struck out the next two batters and induced a groundout to escape the inning with the shutout intact.

The Hornets’ offensive outburst in the bottom of the fifth started with an RBI triple by Morris, and Morris ran home a few batters later after Jed Ashley hit a sacrifice fly.

Howell added to the lead with a sacrifice fly to score Counts from third base, and Matthew Dickson followed with a two-run triple to make it a 7-0 game.

Dickson and Wiggs both scored on wild pitches later in the frame, and Ashley clinched the win with an RBI single to put the final deficit at an even 10 runs.

Howell pitched a complete-game shutout with six strikeouts and two hits allowed for the day.

With the win, the Hornets improved to 4-7 on the season and 1-2 in district play.

They will next play Tuesday at home against Fayetteville City High School. First pitch is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.