Six Errors Allow ThunderBolts to Overwhelm Mud Monsters in 16-4 Rout
CRESTWOOD, Ill. (July 10, 2026) - Defensive troubles haunted the Mississippi Mud Monsters (23-32) as six errors, along with a Windy City ThunderBolts offensive bludgeoning, resulted in a 16-4 blowout loss Friday evening.
Monster Notes
Holman went deep, but defensive trouble opened the door for Windy City.
- Jack Holman hit his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third inning.
- AJ Fritz singled and stole his sixth base of the season.
- Victor Diaz drove in Mississippi's fourth run with a groundout.
- Connor Langrell and Dallas Woolfolk each tossed a scoreless inning in relief.
- Mississippi committed six errors in the series opener at Ozinga Field.
Road Opener in Crestwood
The Mud Monsters opened their series against the ThunderBolts at Ozinga Field.
After dropping the first series of the six-game road trip, the Mud Monsters looked to get back on the winning side of things in the opening game against the ThunderBolts.
Art Joven took the hill looking to replicate what he did the first time Mississippi took a trip to Ozinga Field.
In Joven's third start of the year on May 20, the southpaw was handed a no-decision but did enough to allow the Mud Monsters to earn the win after going 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
Mississippi Scores First
The Mud Monsters grabbed an early run in the second inning.
Joven got run support early when Mississippi scored first in the second inning.
After being sat down in order in the first, Samil De La Rosa opened the second by reaching on a walk and Travis Holt put two men on with a single.
Kyle Booker dropped a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position and with Tevis Payne II batting, Windy City starter Tyler Biddinger uncorked a wild pitch to allow De La Rosa to cross with the game's opening run.
Windy City Answers
The ThunderBolts scored four in the bottom of the second.
Windy City answered in its second chance, however, with a four-spot to take the lead.
The frame started with the first three men all reaching to load the bases, then a sacrifice fly by Tré Hondras followed to tie the game.
Josue Urdaneta singled to give the ThunderBolts the lead before Sandle extended it by one with another sacrifice fly, and a second run-scoring base hit by Justin Fogel put Windy City up by three at 4-1.
Jack Goes Liftoff
Holman powered Mississippi back within a run.
In the third, Jack Holman powered the Mud Monsters to within one run after Brayland Skinner singled with one out and Holman lifted a two-run homer over the right-field fence to make it a 4-3 ballgame.
Errors Extend the Lead
Windy City scored three in the third to push the gap back out.
The ThunderBolts had an answer to Mississippi's two-run inning with three Windy City runs scoring in the bottom half of the inning.
First, with one out, Victor Cerny singled and moved to second on a wild pitch before Oscar Serratos notched an RBI base hit to make it a 5-3 game.
A two-out walk to Hondras put two on, and with Urdaneta batting, errors all around allowed Windy City to run all over Mississippi.
Hondras made an attempt to steal second and Victor Diaz's throw from behind the plate allowed Serratos to score from third while Hondras stole second.
Before the next pitch was thrown, Joven made a pickoff attempt on Hondras, who stole third and came in on a throwing error to make it 7-3 in favor of the ThunderBolts.
Diaz Drives One In
Mississippi cut the deficit to three in the fourth.
Mississippi got a run back in the top of the fourth inning after back-to-back walks were issued to Booker and Payne II, and Diaz grounded out to allow Booker to cross, putting Mississippi within three at a 7-4 deficit.
Seven-Run Fifth
Windy City broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth.
Unfortunately for the Mud Monsters, Windy City doubled its run total in the bottom of the fifth inning, with seven runs and 11 batters coming to the plate.
Hondras was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one out before Urdaneta singled home two runs to make it 9-4.
Later, Diaz made a pickoff attempt on Hondras at third that sailed away from Holt to get Windy City into double-digit territory with a 10-4 score.
Three RBI singles by Fogel, Jared Beebe and Daryl Ruiz got the score to 13 before Cerny doubled home the 14th Windy City run to give the ThunderBolts a 14-4 advantage.
Tristan House entered for Joven, completing the day for the southpaw, who went 4.2 innings, allowing 14 runs, but due to six Mud Monsters errors, only nine of them were earned while coming on 13 hits and three walks.
Defensive Changes
Mississippi shuffled the defense after the fifth.
House remained on the hill in the sixth inning and manager Jay Pecci made a plethora of defensive changes, moving Payne II to catcher in place of Diaz. Nathan Rose entered the game, taking the place of Diaz in the lineup to play shortstop, while Josh Shelly shifted from shortstop to right field.
The ThunderBolts scored two more against House in his full inning of work as both runs came home on outs; a sacrifice fly by Fogel for run number 15 and later an RBI groundout for number 16.
Late Innings
Langrell and Woolfolk kept Windy City off the board the rest of the way.
Both offenses were shut down the rest of the way with Connor Langrell tossing a scoreless seventh inning.
In the eighth inning, Holman left midway through his fourth at-bat on a 2-2 count due to an apparent injury. Slater Schield entered as a pinch-hitter and went to shortstop on defense, moving Rose to second base and pushing the starting second baseman AJ Fritz over to first base.
Dallas Woolfolk entered and pitched a scoreless eighth inning to hold the score and get the game to the top of the ninth.
Mississippi's bats were retired in order in their final chance by ThunderBolts reliever Carter Delaney, closing the book on the 16-4 loss.
Full Box Score
Windy City 16, Mississippi 4 - July 10, 2026 at Ozinga Field
Line Score
Mississippi Batting
Windy City Batting
Mississippi Pitching
Windy City Pitching
Box Score Notes
Mississippi extra-base hits: Holman homered in the third inning.
Windy City extra-base hits: Cerny doubled in the fifth. Dunlap doubled in the seventh.
RBIs: Mississippi - Holman 2, Diaz. Windy City - Sandle, Fogel 3, Beebe 2, Cerny, Serratos, Hondras, Urdaneta 3.
Defense: Mississippi committed six errors: Skinner, Fritz, Payne II, Diaz 2 and Joven. Windy City committed one error.
Base running: Fritz stole his sixth base of the season. Serratos stole two bases, while Hondras and Urdaneta also stole bases for Windy City.
Pitching: Joven 111 pitches, 61 strikes. House 37 pitches, 24 strikes. Langrell 10 pitches, 7 strikes. Woolfolk 20 pitches, 13 strikes. Biddinger 101 pitches, 62 strikes. Cameron 25 pitches, 17 strikes. Delaney 12 pitches, 8 strikes.
Game information: Ozinga Field. Friday, July 10, 2026. First pitch: 6:37 p.m. Final out: 9:26 p.m. Time of game: 2:49. Attendance: 1,533. Weather: 78 degrees. Wind: NE 12 mph. Official scorer: Chris Gbur.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters continue their three-game series against the ThunderBolts Saturday evening.
Right-hander Sergio Sanchez (0-0, 0.00) makes his second start of 2026 and is opposed by right-handed starter AJ Campbell (5-2, 5.06), who starts for Windy City. First pitch is scheduled for 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.