Mud Monsters Break Through Early Deficit, Topple Slammers 8-4
PEARL, Miss. (June 12, 2026) - The Mississippi Mud Monsters (12-19) offense woke up Friday evening, scoring in three straight innings to defeat the Joliet Slammers (12-18) by a score of 8-4.
Monster Notes
Mississippi answered an early deficit, scored in four straight innings and evened the six-game series.
- Kyle Booker drove in Mississippi’s first two runs with an RBI triple and RBI double.
- Jackson Smith settled in after the first inning and delivered his first quality start of the season.
- Jake Zitella signed earlier in the day, drove in the tying run and helped turn two late double plays.
- Chris Barraza closed the game with back-to-back strikeouts in the ninth.
Playing From Behind
Following a three spot in the first, the Mud Monsters found themselves playing from behind for the seventh consecutive game and fourth straight against the Slammers.
Jackson Smith got the start for Mississippi. A leadoff single by Ian Battipaglia began the outing and after moving to third, an error at first base allowed a Jackson Valera groundball to bring home the first run.
A single by the next batter was met with back-to-back RBI singles to leave the Mud Monsters trailing 3-0 as the first half inning came to a close.
Booker Gets Mississippi Started
This time around however, the Mud Monsters answered right away when Kasten Furr walked and Brayland Skinner reached on a fielder’s choice.
Furr was out at second on the play but with Skinner reaching first, Kyle Booker brought him in on an RBI triple to make it 3-1.
The score remained unchanged for two full innings until the Mud Monsters broke through in the fourth.
Mud Monsters on the Board
Kyle Booker’s RBI triple scored Brayland Skinner and got Mississippi started.
Back Even
Skinner led off the fourth with a single, swiped second and came in on Booker’s double to make it a one-run game.
Travis Holt followed with a sacrifice fly to move Booker over to third and Andrew Semo reached on a fielder’s choice that held Booker.
Still with one out, Jake Zitella, who signed with the Mud Monsters earlier in the day, crushed a fly ball into left-center field to allow Booker to tag and tie the game 3-3.
Tied Through Four
Kyle Booker and Jake Zitella helped Mississippi knot the game at 3-3.
Smith Locks In
Mud Monsters pitching was on lockdown mode the rest of the way as Smith’s only mistake came in the first frame.
The Raymond, Mississippi native tossed five scoreless innings following the three-run first to finish with his first quality start and longest outing of the year.
Smith went six innings, allowing three runs on six hits while walking one and striking out five.
Four-Run Fifth
After the game-tying fourth, the Mud Monsters plated four in the fifth to take the lead and never looked back.
One-out singles by Slater Schield and Furr were followed by an RBI single by Skinner to bring home the go-ahead run and make it 4-3 Mississippi.
Booker walked to load the bases, and Holt followed with a run-scoring infield hit for the first insurance run to put the Mud Monsters up by two.
Andrew Semo reached on a fielder’s choice that saw Holt eliminated trying to stretch to second, but another run came in for the Mud Monsters to go up 6-3.
Joliet manager Mike Pinto brought in another lefty, Jack Potteiger, to relieve starter Gunnar Kines.
Before Potteiger threw a pitch to Zitella, he tried to pick off Semo and the throw sailed away from first baseman Valera. Booker scored easily on the errant pickoff attempt, and the score jumped to 7-3, completing the four-run fifth.
Four-Run Fifth
The Mud Monsters took control with a four-run fifth inning.
One More in the Sixth
The Mud Monsters tacked on one more in the sixth to make it four straight run-scoring frames.
Vantrel Reed singled and moved around the bases after stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch by Joliet’s Carlos Soto.
Tevis Payne II lifted a fly ball to score Reed for the eighth and final Mississippi run.
Defense Finishes It
Joliet got a run back in the top of the seventh as southpaw Gage Bihm entered out of the bullpen for his fifth game of the year.
Bihm allowed the first two men to reach before Blake Berry singled in a run to cut the lead to 8-4.
Clutch defense in the seventh and eighth saw the Mud Monsters turn two double plays to pick up the first two outs in each inning.
The first one in the seventh was around the horn, 5-6-3, going Holt-Reed-Zitella with Bihm on the mound. Zitella finished the job with a nice pick to secure the twin killing.
The second was a 6-4-3 in the eighth going Schield-Reed-Zitella with Connor Langrell on the hill. Langrell tossed a scoreless inning.
Chris Barraza entered for the ninth and picked up the first out on a flyout before back-to-back strikeouts put a bow on the game four victory.
Mississippi and Joliet have each won two games through the first four games in the six-game series.
Full Box Score
Mud Monsters 8, Slammers 4 - June 12, 2026 at Trustmark Park
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joliet | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| Mississippi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
Joliet Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battipaglia, 2B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Ward, 3B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Berry, DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Valera, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Beaman, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Suto, LF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Marine, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich, CF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Heidal, C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Carr, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 34 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 8 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schield, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Furr, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Skinner, CF | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Booker, RF | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Holt, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Semo, C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Zitella, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Reed, 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Payne II, DH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 29 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 7 |
Joliet Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kines L | 4.1 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Potteiger | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Smith | 0.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Soto | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Catrambone | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith W | 6.0 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Bihm | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Langrell | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barraza | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
Game Notes
2B: Joliet - Rich. Mississippi - Booker.
3B: Mississippi - Booker.
RBI: Joliet - Berry 2, Beaman, Suto. Mississippi - Skinner, Booker 2, Holt, Semo, Zitella, Payne II.
Double Plays: Joliet turned one double play. Mississippi turned two double plays.
Errors: Joliet - Valera. Mississippi - Schield, Zitella.
Stolen Bases: Joliet - Battipaglia. Mississippi - Skinner, Semo, Reed. Skinner was caught stealing.
Pitching: Kines 84 pitches, 58 strikes. Potteiger 18 pitches, 10 strikes. Smith 14 pitches, 8 strikes. Soto 30 pitches, 17 strikes. Catrambone 13 pitches, 11 strikes. Jackson Smith 91 pitches, 61 strikes. Bihm 31 pitches, 18 strikes. Langrell 5 pitches, 3 strikes. Barraza 11 pitches, 9 strikes.
Game Information: Trustmark Park. First pitch: 6:31 p.m. Final out: 9:35 p.m. Time of game: 3:04. Attendance: 1,513. Weather: 91 degrees, wind 7 mph SSW.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters continue their series against the Slammers on Saturday evening. Southpaw and former Jackson State University star Eric Elliott (0-0, 0.00) makes his first professional start for Mississippi while Joliet starts right-hander Ryan Daly (3-1, 4.73). First pitch is scheduled for 6:01 p.m. CT.
It is Swamp Ass Saturday presented by Southern Beverage. Fans will have the opportunity to bid on Swamp Ass Player Worn Shorts in an auction presented by Budweiser. There will be a Swamp Ass Seat Cushion Giveaway to the first 1,000 fans presented by Budweiser. Additionally, there will be Kids Run the Bases post-game.
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.