Diaz, Holt Go Deep; Slammers Take Series
JOLIET, Ill. (July 9, 2026) - Despite two solo big flies from Travis Holt and Victor Diaz, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (23-31) could not overcome the Joliet Slammers (23-29) offense, dropping the game as well as the series with an 8-3 final.
Monster Notes
Holt and Diaz went deep, but Joliet claimed the series finale.
- Travis Holt hit his third home run of the season.
- Victor Diaz hit his first home run of the year and finished with three hits.
- Brian Williams struck out six over 5.2 innings.
- Braden Forsyth worked 1.1 scoreless innings in relief.
- The Mud Monsters continue the road trip Friday at Windy City.
Williams Gets the Ball
The right-hander made his second start of the year against Joliet.
Looking to win their third straight series, Mississippi sent right-hander Brian Williams to the mound.
The right-hander from Texas made one previous start against Joliet at Trustmark Park and was handed the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits in five innings on June 10.
Things got off to a rocky start as Joliet scored first for the second consecutive day.
Slammers Strike First
Joliet scored twice in the first and twice in the second.
Back-to-back infield singles started things off before a fielder's choice on a groundball by Blake Berry loaded the bases full of Slammers.
Two run-scoring fielder's choices followed by Jackson Valera and Cam Suto gave Joliet the early 2-0 advantage in the first.
The Mud Monsters, through their first two offensive chances, were retired in order by Joliet starter Ryan Daly while the Slammers offense doubled its lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second.
Tyler Cerny led things off with a double and after a walk to Kadon Morton put two men on, Brandon Heidal dropped a sacrifice bunt on a 2-2 count to move both runners into scoring position.
Ian Battipaglia followed with a two-run single to score both Cerny and Morton to put Joliet up 4-0.
Mississippi Finds Hits
Diaz and Schield started the Mud Monsters hit column in the third.
In the top of the third inning, Mississippi's bats were able to pick up their first hits of the game with back-to-back base hits by Diaz and Slater Schield, but Mississippi was held at bay.
Joliet once again found success in the bottom of the third inning, loading the bases after Williams served up a one-out double to Jackson Beaman and two free passes were issued.
The right-hander Houdinied his way out of the situation, striking out Heidal for the second out and picking up a flyout for the last out.
Holt Leaves the Yard
The Mud Monsters got on the board with a solo shot.
With the third frame being the inning for Mississippi to remove the "0" in the hit column, the fourth saw the Mud Monsters bring their first run across.
Holt, leading off the inning, smashed a towering drive into left field off Daly for a solo home run, his third of the year, to cut the deficit to three with a 4-1 score.
Joliet Adds On
The Slammers stretched the lead in the fifth and sixth.
Things held as Mississippi was sat down in order in the top of the fifth inning, but Joliet answered with a solo home run of its own in the home half of the frame after Suto went deep to push the Slammers back out to a four-run lead at 5-1.
Joliet tacked on another run in the sixth inning after Williams allowed a one-out walk to Battipaglia and Berry drove him in with a two-out RBI double to increase Joliet's lead to 6-1.
Braden Forsyth entered in relief, completing the day for Williams, who ended up going 5.2 innings allowing six runs on eight hits while striking out six and walking four batters.
Forsyth immediately struck out the first batter he faced to give the Mud Monsters lumber a chance to respond.
Diaz Doubles, Skinner Drives One In
Mississippi cut into the lead in the seventh.
They did so against Joliet reliever Marcus Morgan after Josh Shelly singled to begin things and Diaz put both men in scoring position with a double for his second hit of the day.
The next batter, Brayland Skinner, grounded out back to Morgan who only had the play at first to allow the second Mud Monsters run to cross, making it a 6-2 ballgame.
Forsyth remained on the hill and tossed a scoreless seventh inning, picking up a second strikeout to hold the score, and manager Jay Pecci turned to southpaw Gage Bihm in the eighth.
Final Joliet Runs
The Slammers added two in the eighth.
After being silenced in the seventh, Joliet would bring home its final two runs against Bihm.
Back-to-back walks to Heidal and Battipaglia started things off.
A groundout by Berry pushed both men into scoring position before a passed ball that Diaz could not catch allowed the first run to score.
Battipaglia advanced to third on the same play and came in to score on an RBI single by Valera to put Joliet up by six with an 8-2 lead.
Diaz Goes Opposite Field
The catcher hit his first home run of the season in the ninth.
Mississippi picked up one more run in the top of the ninth after Diaz went opposite field on a pitch from Joliet's Casey O'Dell for his first home run of the year, a solo shot to make it an 8-3 score.
The homer was the third hit of the day for the Mud Monsters catcher.
O'Dell regrouped and got the final out of the inning, ending the game and series in favor of the Slammers.
Full Box Score
Joliet 8, Mississippi 3 - July 9, 2026 at Slammers Stadium
Line Score
Mississippi Batting
Joliet Batting
Mississippi Pitching
Joliet Pitching
Box Score Notes
Mississippi extra-base hits: Diaz doubled in the seventh. Holt homered in the fourth. Diaz homered in the ninth.
Joliet extra-base hits: Cerny doubled in the second. Beaman doubled in the third. Berry doubled in the sixth. Suto homered in the fifth.
RBIs: Mississippi - Skinner, Holt, Diaz. Joliet - Battipaglia 2, Berry, Valera 2, Suto 2.
Base running: Booker was caught stealing. Suto and Cerny stole bases for Joliet.
Pitching: Williams 104 pitches, 64 strikes. Forsyth 21 pitches, 12 strikes. Bihm 31 pitches, 14 strikes. Daly 99 pitches, 62 strikes. Morgan 20 pitches, 12 strikes. Soto 15 pitches, 8 strikes. O'Dell 11 pitches, 8 strikes.
Game information: Slammers Stadium. Thursday, July 9, 2026. First pitch: 6:35 p.m. Final out: 9:25 p.m. Time of game: 2:50. Attendance: 953. Weather: 83 degrees. Wind: W 6 mph. Official scorer: Dave Laketa.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters continue their six-game road trip in Illinois with a three-game set in Crestwood against the Windy City ThunderBolts.
Southpaw Art Joven (5-2, 4.76) is slated to start for Mississippi. Windy City will throw right-hander Tyler Biddinger (1-0, 1.64). First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 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.