Holt's Late-Inning Heroics Overshadowed in Heartbreaking Loss to Wild Things
WASHINGTON, Pa. (June 17, 2026) - A game-tying home run by Travis Holt gave the Mississippi Mud Monsters (14-21) new life late, but Anthony Brocato answered with an eighth-inning two-run homer to lift the Washington Wild Things (24-9) to a 6-5 victory Wednesday evening.
Monster Notes
Holt tied it late, Fritz answered in the ninth, and Payne II threw out three runners behind the plate.
- Travis Holt hit a game-tying two-run homer in the eighth inning.
- AJ Fritz launched a solo home run in the ninth to pull Mississippi within one.
- Tevis Payne II threw out three runners from behind the plate.
- Dallas Woolfolk tossed two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
Mississippi Strikes First
The Mud Monsters made sure they would not wait long to get on the board.
After being shut out by Zach Kirby in the opening game of the series, the offense ensured it got on the board first in the second inning.
A leadoff Kyle Booker triple was followed by a Travis Holt RBI groundout to give Mississippi a 1-0 lead.
Art Joven got the start, his eighth of the year, and the southpaw began his day tossing two scoreless frames that included a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play courtesy of clutch defense from Tevis Payne II.
The caught stealing was one of three runners Payne II threw out on the evening.
Washington Answers
The Wild Things broke through with two outs in the third.
In the bottom of the third, Washington broke through to take its first lead of the day with two outs.
Joven surrendered a single to Connor Peek that was followed by a two-run blast by Andrew Czech to put the Wild Things in front 2-1.
An answer was imminent in the top of the fourth after back-to-back singles by Brayland Skinner and Booker put two on.
A batter later with one out, Andrew Semo ripped a game-tying base hit to score Skinner and make it a 2-2 game.
Wild Things Move Back In Front
Washington scored twice in the fifth to take control again.
After holding the Wild Things in the bottom half of the inning to keep the score even, Washington got to Joven once more in the fifth.
A walk to Hunter Stokely began the frame and a double by Isaias Quiroz put both runners in scoring position.
A groundout by Antonio Monroy brought in the tie-breaking run to put Washington up 3-2. On the play, Quiroz advanced to third.
Later, a single by Connor Peek brought home Quiroz to provide insurance and increase the Wild Things advantage to 4-2.
Holt Delivers
The all-time home run leader came through with Mississippi down to six outs.
Things remained quiet until the top of the eighth.
With two outs, Booker drew a walk to set the stage for Holt.
The all-time home run leader in Mud Monsters history entered the evening with just one home run on the season. With Mississippi down to six outs, Holt unloaded on a 1-1 pitch and sent it soaring to dead center field, where Wild Things center fielder Kyle Edwards ran out of room at the wall.
The two-run blast, arguably Mississippi's most clutch hit of the season, tied the game at 4-4.
Washington Responds
Brocato answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth.
Unfortunately, the Wild Things had some late-inning heroics of their own when the game moved to the home half of the eighth.
After Dallas Woolfolk tossed two scoreless innings of relief following Joven, striking out three, Braden Forsyth entered to keep the game tied.
Forsyth walked Czech aboard for Anthony Brocato.
The reigning Frontier League Player of the Week pulled a no-doubter down the left field line for Washington's own eighth-inning two-run homer, putting the Wild Things back in front 6-4.
Forsyth completed the inning, but with the Mud Monsters trailing again, it would take one last miracle.
One Last Push
Fritz brought Mississippi back within one in the ninth.
Landon Ginn came out of the Wild Things bullpen for the save, but Mississippi refused to go quietly.
AJ Fritz led off the inning by crushing a solo homer to left field to pull Mississippi within a run at 6-5.
Jake Zitella walked to continue the rally and manager Jay Pecci opted to run Curran Mitzel in place of Zitella.
The next batter, Tevis Payne II, blooped a ball into center field that was caught. Mitzel was put in motion on contact and could not get back to first base.
Slater Schield drew his second walk of the game with two outs, but Ginn got Kasten Furr to ground out and secure the save, handing the Mud Monsters a 6-5 loss.
Full Box Score
Washington 6, Mississippi 5 - June 17, 2026 at EQT Park
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 6 |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | X | 6 | 8 | 0 | 4 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schield, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Furr, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Skinner, CF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Booker, LF | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Holt, 3B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Semo, DH | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Fritz, 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Zitella, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Mitzel, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Payne II, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 33 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
Washington Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroy, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Peek, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Czech, DH | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Brocato, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Fowler, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ketchup, RF | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Edwards, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Stokely, 1B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Quiroz, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 28 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 7 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joven | 5.0 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Woolfolk | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Forsyth L | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
Washington Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Hanlon | 4.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Brodsky | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| Foltz Jr. | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Coles W | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ginn SV | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
Game Notes
3B: Mississippi - Kyle Booker.
HR: Mississippi - Travis Holt, AJ Fritz. Washington - Andrew Czech, Anthony Brocato.
RBI: Mississippi - Travis Holt 3, Andrew Semo, AJ Fritz. Washington - Antonio Monroy, Connor Peek, Andrew Czech 2, Anthony Brocato 2.
Base Running: Mississippi caught stealing: Slater Schield. Washington stolen bases: Connor Peek, Bralin Fowler. Washington caught stealing: Connor Peek, Caleb Ketchup.
Pitching: Joven 81 pitches, 48 strikes. Woolfolk 31 pitches, 19 strikes. Forsyth 26 pitches, 16 strikes. O'Hanlon 49 pitches, 34 strikes. Brodsky 40 pitches, 22 strikes. Foltz Jr. 27 pitches, 18 strikes. Coles 16 pitches, 9 strikes. Ginn 19 pitches, 8 strikes.
Game Information: EQT Park. First pitch: 6:07 p.m. Final out: 8:49 p.m. Time of game: 2:42. Attendance: 2,293. Weather: 77 degrees, wind 10 mph.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters wrap up their three-game set against the Wild Things on Thursday evening. Right-hander Jackson Smith (3-0, 4.85) starts for Mississippi while left-hander Zander Sechrist (1-3, 2.50) gets the ball for Washington.
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET, 6:05 p.m. CT.
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.