Mud Monsters Ride Swamp Ass Saturday Magic to 12-7 Victory Over Slammers
PEARL, Miss. (June 13, 2026) - The Mississippi Mud Monsters (13-19) harnessed the aura and power of Swamp Ass Saturday presented by Southern Beverage to roll past the Joliet Slammers (12-19) by a score of 12-7.
Monster Notes
Mississippi scored 12 runs, piled up 14 hits and proved Swamp Ass Saturday belongs to the Mud Monsters.
- Kyle Booker went 4-for-5 with two doubles, three RBI and two runs scored.
- Kasten Furr drove in two runs and scored twice.
- Brayland Skinner added two hits, an RBI and a run scored.
- Braden Forsyth struck out five across three innings and picked up the win.
Elliott Starts at Home
After making his debut in Sauget, Illinois against the Gateway Grizzlies, Eric Elliott took the mound for the first time at Trustmark Park to make his first professional start.
The former Jackson State star tossed a perfect inning while striking out two in his professional debut, and the southpaw set out to do more of the same Saturday evening.
Taking the field in special swamp-themed basketball shorts, Elliott walked the first man he faced before an on-field delay took place to recondition the pitcher’s mound.
After it was to the liking of the on-field staff, Elliott’s outing resumed.
Battipaglia moved from first to third as the first two outs were recorded, and with the runner ninety feet away, Elliott induced an inning-ending popout off the bat of Blake Berry.
Mississippi Scores First
After being retired in order in the bottom of the first, the Mud Monsters’ bats went to work in the second to get on the board first.
Kyle Booker started the frame with a double for his first of four hits and, three pitches later, Travis Holt plated him to make it the first time Mississippi had scored first in the series.
Forsyth Answers
Elliott took the mound in the top of the third inning and, after issuing walks to the first two men, the Mud Monsters went to the bullpen, bringing in right-hander Braden Forsyth.
The Coldwater, Mississippi native, sporting his own pair of the Saturday shorts, walked the next two batters, including a bases-loaded free pass that brought home the tying run to make it 1-1.
Forsyth followed with a strikeout for the first out before the defense turned a clutch double play going 6-3 as Slater Schield fielded it, stepped on the bag for one and threw across his body to AJ Fritz at first.
Back 2 Back Swamp Ass Strikeouts
Braden Forsyth ended the frame with back-to-back strikeouts.
Wearing the Magic
Wearing their magical garments, the Mud Monsters answered with two outs in the home half of the frame.
The rally began with a walk to Kasten Furr that was followed by a single from Brayland Skinner.
Booker notched his second hit of the day, a two-run double that allowed him to reach third on an error and give Mississippi a 3-1 lead.
Shorts Recharge
After allowing the shorts to recharge during a scoreless fourth, Mississippi ran into trouble in the top of the fifth.
Forsyth walked the first two men on and, with one out, Berry crushed the first of two home runs off the batter’s eye in center field to put Joliet up 4-3.
The shorts did not take kindly to Berry’s homer and jumped into action in the bottom of the inning.
Five-Run Fifth
Two walks to Tevis Payne II and Schield began the frame.
During Schield’s at-bat, two wild pitches allowed Payne II to reach second and then third. Schield stole second to move both runners into scoring position.
Furr singled to bring home Payne II as the tying run, knocking Joliet starter Ryan Daly out of the game and bringing left-handed reliever Max Martzolf out of the bullpen.
It was a new pitcher, same result situation as Booker singled for the 5-4 lead.
With Booker at first, Holt reached on an error to put two on.
Both advanced into scoring position after a Martzolf wild pitch before Andrew Semo walked to load the bases.
AJ Fritz followed with a pop-up into shallow right field that appeared destined to be the second out of the inning. Joliet second baseman Ian Battipaglia and right fielder Blake Berry both converged on the ball, but it dropped untouched to score two runs and make it a 7-4 Mud Monsters lead.
Vantrel Reed brought home the fifth run of the inning after reaching on a fielder’s choice to close out the frame with Mississippi leading 8-4.
Five-Run Fifth
The power of the shorts pushed Mississippi back in front, 8-4.
Runs 9 and 10
The Mud Monsters tacked on two more in the sixth inning.
Schield walked and came around to score on a Furr RBI double.
Furr moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Skinner single to make it 10-4.
Furr and Skinner Add On
Kasten Furr and Brayland Skinner brought in runs nine and ten.
Joliet Pushes Back
In the top of the seventh, back-to-back homers off Dallas Woolfolk, a two-run shot by Peyton Carr and a solo blast from Berry, cut the lead to 10-7.
Mississippi answered immediately with two more runs after the seventh-inning stretch.
Semo and Fritz began the inning with a single and double to immediately put runners on second and third.
Reed doubled to bring home Semo but was caught in a rundown after taking a wide turn around second.
Payne II followed with an RBI groundout to score Fritz and make it 12-7.
Swamp Ass Saturday Is Ours
With the power of the shorts, Brayden Sanders entered to pitch a scoreless eighth but exited alongside trainer Marc Osborne after recording the first out of the ninth when he appeared to experience discomfort in his legs.
Tristan House came on to record the final two outs, the second coming on a running catch by Holt in foul territory.
The final out was recorded on a flyout to Booker to close out the night and prove Swamp Ass Saturday belongs to the Mississippi Mud Monsters.
Swamp Ass Saturday Is Ours
The Mud Monsters closed out a 12-7 win over Joliet.
Full Box Score
Mud Monsters 12, Slammers 7 - June 13, 2026 at Trustmark Park
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joliet | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | X | 12 | 14 | 1 | 5 |
Joliet Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battipaglia, 2B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Ward, 3B | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Carr, DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Berry, RF | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| Suto, 1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Beaman, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Marine, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Rich, CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Sullivan, C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 32 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schield, SS | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Furr, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Skinner, CF | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Booker, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Holt, 3B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Semo, C | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fritz, 1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Reed, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Payne II, DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 35 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 6 |
Joliet Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daly L | 4.0 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Martzolf | 2.0 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Dubois | 2.0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 0 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Forsyth W | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Woolfolk | 2.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Sanders | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| House | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
Game Notes
2B: Joliet - Rich. Mississippi - Booker 2, Holt, Furr, Fritz, Reed.
HR: Joliet - Berry 2, Carr.
RBI: Joliet - Carr 3, Berry 4. Mississippi - Furr 2, Skinner, Booker 3, Holt, Fritz 2, Reed 2, Payne II.
Double Plays: Joliet turned one double play. Mississippi turned one double play.
Errors: Joliet - Beaman, Marine 2. Mississippi - Elliott.
Base Running: Mississippi stolen base: Schield. Semo and Payne II were caught stealing.
Pitching: Daly 85 pitches, 52 strikes. Martzolf 35 pitches, 21 strikes. Dubois 30 pitches, 19 strikes. Elliott 39 pitches, 16 strikes. Forsyth 59 pitches, 32 strikes. Woolfolk 43 pitches, 27 strikes. Sanders 26 pitches, 16 strikes. House 4 pitches, 4 strikes.
Game Information: Trustmark Park. First pitch: 6:02 p.m. Final out: 9:15 p.m. Time of game: 3:13. Attendance: 1,701. Weather: 92 degrees, wind 7 mph SSW.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters conclude their series against the Slammers on Sunday evening. It will be the second time each team has seen the two finale starting pitchers as lefty Tyler Campbell (1-0, 2.25) starts for Mississippi and right-hander Ben Vitas (2-1, 4.13) starts for Joliet.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:01 p.m. CT, making it a 601 Sunday. 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.