Early Home Run Barrage Too Much to Overcome as Y’alls Take Down Mud Monsters
FLORENCE, Ky. (May 12, 2026) - In the first of a twelve-game road trip, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (2-2) fell to the Florence Y’alls (1-3) by a score of 13-5 for their first road loss of the season.
Monster Notes
A fast start gave Mississippi an early lead, but Florence’s power proved too much to overcome.
- Brayland Skinner helped spark the offense with multiple hits, a stolen base and an RBI.
- Kyle Booker singled in the first and later drove in a run after being hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
- Travis Holt delivered an RBI single during Mississippi’s three-run second inning.
- Seth McCartney struck out his first two batters as a member of the Mud Monsters during a scoreless sixth.
Early Lead
The Mud Monsters struck first in the opening inning.
Things looked great off the bat as the Mud Monsters took an early 1-0 lead in the first. Brayland Skinner and Kyle Booker led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, Skinner came in to score on a Jack Holman sacrifice fly.
Florence Fires Back
The Y’alls answered with a first-inning power surge.
Back-to-back-to-back
Holding the early 1-0 lead, 7-foot right-hander Brenton Thiels, making his first appearance as a starter for the Mud Monsters, saw the Y’alls go back-to-back-to-back in the first.
The two-run shot by Hank Zeisler, his first, was followed by a Brendan Bobo solo homer, his first, and that was followed by a Zade Richardson solo homer to make it 4-1.
Mud Monsters Answer
Mississippi battled right back and tied the game in the second.
The Mud Monsters responded by tying it in the next half-inning after a leadoff walk to Kasten Furr and a one-out walk to Slater Schield put two on for Brayland Skinner.
Furr stole third and came in to score on a wild pickoff throw by Florence starter Jonaiker Villalobos. Skinner then drove in Schield on an RBI single to make it 4-3.
After stealing second, Skinner moved to third on a sacrifice fly by Kyle Booker, later coming in to score on an RBI single by Travis Holt to tie things up at 4-4.
Power Takes Over
Florence reclaimed control with another big swing.
With a brand-new ballgame in front of them, Thiels went back to work, getting the first out of the inning. After the next two batters reached, Zeisler hit a three-run home run for his second of the game to make it 7-4.
Thiels held Florence scoreless in the third. In the fourth, the Y’alls put up another run to make it 8-4.
Thiels struck out five Florence batters before turning it over to Braden Forsyth.
Middle Innings
The Y’alls added on as Mississippi tried to stay within reach.
Forsyth entered for his second game of the year, striking out one and allowing a run in the fifth that made it 9-4 Florence.
Seth McCartney made his second appearance of the season and struck out his first two batters as a member of the Mud Monsters during a scoreless sixth.
Mississippi brought home a run after Booker was plunked by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 9-5.
Florence Finishes
The Y’alls used one more big inning to put the game away.
McCartney remained on the hill for the seventh, allowing a run on consecutive doubles before surrendering a three-run homer to Bobo to make it 13-5.
Infielder AJ Fritz came on in relief, pitching a scoreless eighth inning as Florence took game one, 13-5.
Next Game
The Mud Monsters continue the three-game road series at Thomas More Stadium in Florence as right-hander Preston Johnson (1-0, 0.00) makes his second start for Mississippi.
The Y’alls send fellow right-hander Bradley Wilson (0-0, 0.00) to the hill.
Final Box Score
The full numbers from Mississippi’s 13-5 loss in Florence.
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 17 |
| Florence | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | X | 13 | 13 | 3 | 9 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skinner, CF | .467 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Booker, RF | .294 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Holt, 3B | .125 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Holman, 1B | .500 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| De La Rosa, DH | .250 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Nicklaus, 2B | .200 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Furr, LF | .364 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Semo, C | .250 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
| Schield, SS | .222 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Totals | 39 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 24 | 5 |
Florence Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaneyfelt, CF | .235 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Zeisler, 1B | .471 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Bobo, RF | .235 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Richardson, DH | .313 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brodi, LF | .000 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Tucker, LF | .286 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Taylor, 2B | .182 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Gutierrez, C | .000 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| Broussard, 3B | .400 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Baker, SS | .308 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 37 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 27 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thiels L | 18.00 | 4.0 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 23 |
| Forsyth | 4.50 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| House | 23.14 | 1.0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Fritz | 0.00 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 5 |
Florence Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villalobos | 9.00 | 3.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Alpern W | 1.59 | 3.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Whitesell | 2.08 | 1.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Kaftan | 9.00 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
Batting
Mississippi: 2B: Skinner. RBI: Skinner 2, Booker, Holt, Holman. HBP: Booker. SF: Holman. GIDP: Holt. SB: Skinner.
Florence: 2B: Broussard, Baker. HR: Zeisler 2, Bobo 2, Richardson. RBI: Zeisler 7, Bobo 4, Richardson, Baker. E: Villalobos, Zeisler, Baker. SB: Shaneyfelt.
Pitching
Pitches-Strikes: Thiels 85-51, Forsyth 42-25, House 28-17, Fritz 13-7; Villalobos 70-43, Alpern 64-35, Whitesell 29-19, Kaftan 18-9.
Batters Faced: Thiels 23, Forsyth 11, House 8, Fritz 4; Villalobos 19, Alpern 19, Whitesell 6, Kaftan 5.
Game Information
Venue: Thomas More Stadium. Date: Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Start: 6:52 p.m. Final: 10:20 p.m. Time of Game: 3:28. Attendance: 3,000.
About the Mississippi Mud Monsters
Baseball Lives Here. It Just Got a Little Weirder.
The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, competing in the Frontier League. Built in the mud and rooted in Mississippi, the Mud Monsters believe baseball should be unapologetically fun, a little weird, wildly welcoming, and deeply tied to the place it calls home. Real baseball. Real people. This is swamp-built, Mississippi-made baseball, where the vibes matter just as much as the final score.