CANCELLED: Finale Between Mud Monsters, Crushers Washed Away
Mississippi took the lead just before the rain arrived, but the game was cancelled before becoming official.
AVON, Ohio (Aug. 6, 2026) - Just as the Mississippi Mud Monsters (30-44) took a 6-5 lead against the Lake Erie Crushers (30-44), the series finale entered a weather delay and was ultimately cancelled Thursday evening. The game will not be made up or resumed, with all statistics from the contest wiped away and neither team's record affected.
Monster Notes
The rain arrived right as the Mud Monsters started pouring on the runs.
- The game was cancelled before reaching official-game status.
- No statistics from the contest count toward individual or team totals.
- Neither team’s record is affected, keeping Mississippi at 30-44 and Lake Erie at 30-44.
- Brayland Skinner’s club-record hitting streak remains at 12 games after his fourth-inning single was erased by the cancellation.
- Mississippi continues the road trip Friday with a three-game series at Schaumburg.
Smith Opens the Finale
Mississippi looked to secure its first series victory against Lake Erie.
Looking to secure their first-ever series victory against Lake Erie, the Mud Monsters sent right-hander Jackson Smith to the mound.
Smith struggled in his lone previous start against the Crushers on June 24 at Trustmark Park, completing 4.0 innings while allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks.
This time around at ForeFront Field, Smith walked leadoff hitter Joe Redfield before he was erased on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Luis Acevedo, who reached first.
Victor Diaz threw out Acevedo attempting to steal second before Garret Pike singled and departed the game with an apparent injury.
Samuel Benjamin entered as a pinch-runner, and Smith recorded the final out to keep the first inning scoreless.
Crushers Strike First
Lake Erie scored four runs in the second inning.
Mississippi picked up its first baserunner in the second against Lake Erie starter Cobe Reeves when Amani Larry drew a one-out walk and stole second, but the Mud Monsters were held scoreless.
The Crushers struck first in their second offensive opportunity.
Pavin Parks opened the frame with a walk before Chayton Krauss joined him after being hit by a pitch.
One batter later, with one out, Jacob Tobias grounded a single through the left side to give Lake Erie a 1-0 lead.
Nick Chavez grounded into a fielder’s choice that erased Tobias at second but allowed Chavez to reach and put runners on the corners.
Redfield followed by clearing the bases with a two-run double to extend the Lake Erie advantage to 3-0.
Smith hit Acevedo for his second hit batter of the inning before Benjamin, in his first at-bat after entering the game, singled home Redfield to make it 4-0 Crushers.
Booker Gets Mississippi on the Board
The Mud Monsters cut into the lead in the third.
Mississippi answered in the top of the third after Joshua Shelly led off the frame with a first-pitch swinging double.
Two batters later, with two outs, Kyle Booker knocked an RBI single for his 62nd RBI of the season to score Shelly and make it a 4-1 ballgame.
Lake Erie got the run back in the bottom half of the inning after Parks led off with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Krauss to restore the four-run advantage at 5-1.
Mud Monsters Storm Back
Mississippi loaded the bases and turned the game around in the fourth.
The Mud Monsters loaded the bases in the top of the fourth to knock Reeves out of the game after Tevis Payne II and AJ Fritz each drew walks before Larry singled for his first hit as a Mud Monster.
Lake Erie turned to Christian Scafidi out of the bullpen looking to escape the bases-loaded situation.
The first batter he faced, Travis Holt, smashed a ball deep into left field that missed becoming a grand slam by only a couple of feet.
Instead, Holt settled for a sacrifice fly to score Payne II and cut the Lake Erie lead to 5-2.
Diaz followed with a two-run single to score Fritz and Larry, pulling Mississippi within one at 5-4.
Diaz advanced to second on a wild pitch before Shelly picked up his second double of the game, scoring Diaz to knot the game at 5-5.
With Shelly in scoring position, Vantrel Reed delivered an RBI single to put the Mud Monsters in front for the first time, 6-5.
Skinner followed with a single back up the middle on a ball that struck Scafidi and resulted in the Lake Erie reliever departing the game.
The hit would have extended Skinner’s club-record hitting streak to 13 games. Instead it remains at 12 games for the next time Skinner plays.
Rain Wins the Night
The delay began before the game became official.
Adam Brouwer was set to enter out of the Crushers bullpen, but just as the Mud Monsters started pouring on the runs, the rain began pouring down and the game entered a weather delay.
After the rain continued to fall, the game was cancelled as the delay reached the 50-minute mark.
Because the game did not reach five completed innings, or 4.5 innings with the home team leading, the contest was not official. The game does not count toward either club’s record, and all statistics accumulated during the cancelled contest are erased.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters continue their six-game road trip Friday evening, opening a three-game series against the Schaumburg Boomers.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. Mississippi calls upon right-hander Brian Williams (2-7, 6.38) for the start, while fellow right-hander Ross Thompson (8-3, 4.59) gets the ball for Schaumburg.
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.