Record Day at the Plate and on the Mound Fuels 8-3 Win Over Florence
FLORENCE, Ky. (May 13, 2026) - With Mud Monsters pitching striking out 18 Florence batters for a new single-game club record while Travis Holt launched the first Mud Monsters home run of 2026, the 50th in club history, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (3-2) defeated the Florence Y’alls (1-4) by a score of 8-3.
Monster Notes
A record-setting night on the mound, a milestone blast at the plate and a road win in Florence.
- Preston Johnson struck out 10 batters across five innings, tying the club record for strikeouts by a Mud Monsters starter.
- Mud Monsters pitching struck out 18 Florence batters, setting a new single-game franchise record.
- Travis Holt launched the first Mud Monsters home run of 2026 and the 50th in club history.
- Kyle Booker extended his multi-season hitting streak to 13 games with a two-run double in the ninth.
Final Score
Mississippi bounced back on the road with a record-setting 8-3 win in Florence.
Johnson Deals
The Crystal Springs native delivered a record-tying start.
The Mud Monsters went to battle behind the arm of Crystal Springs, Mississippi native Preston Johnson. In his second start for the teal and black, the 26-year-old right-hander tossed three scoreless frames while striking out five of the first nine Florence batters he faced.
He would finish with 10 strikeouts on the day, tying Luis Devers, who reached the mark on July 25, 2025 at Lake Erie, for the most strikeouts by a Mud Monsters starter in club history.
First Runs
Mississippi grabbed the lead in the third and added on in the fourth.
Johnson worked with the lead early after the Mud Monsters offense got the scoring started in the top of the third inning.
AJ Fritz was hit by a pitch by Y’alls starter Bradley Wilson and quickly came around to score after moving around the bases before eventually crossing the plate on a wild pitch two batters later to make it 1-0 Mississippi.
The Mud Monsters refused to take their foot off the gas pedal in the following inning as Travis Holt led off the fourth with a solo home run to dead center field. The solo shot by the Mud Monsters home run king marked the first homer of 2026 and the 50th in club history.
Jack Holman followed with a single and later moved to second on Wilson’s second wild pitch before Kasten Furr plated him with an RBI single to extend the lead to 3-0.
Florence Breaks Through
The Y’alls got on the board, but Johnson finished strong.
Johnson’s only mistake came in the fourth inning. After recording back-to-back strikeouts for Nos. 6 and 7 on the day, a 1-1 offering caught too much of the plate and Zade Richardson sent it out of the yard to put Florence on the board.
Johnson finished the day with 10 strikeouts while allowing just one run on two hits and no walks across five innings pitched. Manager Jay Pecci then turned the game over to the bullpen, bringing in Jackson Smith for the sixth inning.
Despite allowing a leadoff single, Smith responded by striking out the next three Florence batters to send the game into the seventh inning.
Insurance Matters
Mississippi added a key run before Florence made it close.
With Johnson out of the game and the score sitting at 3-1, Mississippi picked up a crucial insurance run in the seventh. Fritz grounded a single through the left side to lead things off and later moved to second on a fielder’s choice by Andrew Semo.
After stealing third base, Fritz scored on an RBI by Slater Schield to extend the lead to 4-1.
That insurance run ended up proving huge for the Mud Monsters. Smith retired the first Florence batter of the inning, but a single by Zach Beadle put a man on for Garrett Brussard, who launched a two-run homer to cut the Mississippi lead to 4-3.
Smith finished his outing allowing two runs across two innings while also recording four strikeouts, bringing the Mud Monsters’ team total to 14 on the night.
Adding Distance
The Mud Monsters created separation late.
Looking to create more separation, Mississippi went back to work against Florence reliever Ahmad Harajili in the eighth inning. A double by Holt led off the frame before Kasten Furr was hit by a pitch.
With runners on the corners, Florence manager Toby Hall turned to Blake Donnan out of the bullpen in hopes of protecting the one-run deficit.
Donnan struggled immediately. After a wild pitch moved Holt and Furr into scoring position, another wild pitch followed one batter later, allowing Holt to score and extend the Mud Monsters lead to 5-3.
Connor Langrell entered for the bottom of the eighth and struck out two of the three batters he faced, bringing the Mud Monsters strikeout total to 16.
Booker Keeps Rolling
The ninth inning gave Mississippi breathing room and extended a historic streak.
Mississippi continued its offensive attack into the ninth inning. With Donnan returning to the mound, Semo was immediately hit by a pitch and, with one away, Skinner drew a walk to put two runners aboard.
Entering his final plate appearance with his 13-game multi-season hitting streak on the line, Kyle Booker drilled a ball into left-center field that rolled to the fence for a two-run double to make it 7-3.
Booker Extends the Streak
After Holt reached, Mississippi attempted a double steal, resulting in Booker being caught at third base. The next two batters reached to load the bases before a bases-loaded walk to Jack Nicklaus brought home the Mud Monsters’ eighth and final run of the night.
Record Secured
Barraza closed it out and the staff set a new club mark.
Chris Barraza took the mound to close things out and, after allowing a leadoff single, retired the next three batters in order, two of them via strikeout, to secure the 8-3 victory for Mississippi.
Barraza’s two strikeouts in the ninth brought the team total to 18, setting a new single-game franchise record.
Record-Setting Strikeout
Next Game
The Mud Monsters will look to secure the three-game road-series victory against Florence tomorrow evening.
Right-hander Brian Williams (0-0, 1.80) will start for Mississippi while Florence turns to left-hander Evan Webster (0-1, 6.75). First pitch is scheduled for 6:54 p.m. ET.
Final Box Score
The full numbers from Mississippi’s record-setting 8-3 win over Florence.
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 8 |
| Florence | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skinner, CF | .474 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Booker, RF | .273 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Holt, DH | .200 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Holman, 1B | .467 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Furr, LF | .357 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nicklaus, 2B | .154 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Fritz, 3B | .125 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Semo, C | .200 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 1 |
| Schield, SS | .308 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 33 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 27 | 7 |
Florence Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaneyfelt, CF | .250 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Zeisler, 1B | .429 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | |
| Bobo, RF | .190 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Richardson, DH | .300 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tucker, LF | .182 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Taylor, 2B | .200 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Beadle, C | .273 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 4 | |
| Broussard, 3B | .385 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |
| Baker, SS | .294 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Totals | 34 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 27 | 11 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson W | 0.82 | 5.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 19 |
| Smith | 7.71 | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| Langrell | 0.00 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Barraza | 0.00 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
Florence Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilson L | 3.38 | 5.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 20 |
| Spradling | 9.00 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Harajili | 40.50 | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Donnan | 10.13 | 1.2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
Batting
Mississippi: 2B: Holt, Booker. HR: Holt. RBI: Booker 2, Holt, Furr, Nicklaus, Schield. HBP: Fritz, Holman, Furr 2, Semo, Holt. SB: Holt, Furr, Fritz, Semo. CS: Skinner, Booker, Schield.
Florence: HR: Richardson, Broussard. RBI: Richardson, Broussard 2. HBP: Broussard. SB: Zeisler.
Pitching
Pitches-Strikes: Johnson 92-60, Smith 41-23, Langrell 15-9, Barraza 10-8; Wilson 76-56, Spradling 37-24, Harajili 5-3, Donnan 47-20.
Wild Pitches: Wilson 2, Donnan 2.
Game Information
Venue: Thomas More Stadium. Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2026. Start: 6:54 p.m. Final: 10:00 p.m. Time of Game: 3:06. Attendance: 1,012.
Umpires: HP Rudy Bosque, 1B Jeff Osborne, 3B Henry Schmulewitz.
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.