Mississippi’s First Game North Goes South in Loss to Ottawa
OTTAWA, Ontario (Aug. 18, 2026) - Travis Holt and Kyle Booker both homered for the Mississippi Mud Monsters (33-51), but the Ottawa Titans (48-36) scored in every inning except the seventh on their way to a 16-4 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs Tuesday evening.
Monster Notes
The Mud Monsters opened their first-ever road trip to Canada at Ottawa Stadium.
- Travis Holt hit a two-run home run in the second inning, his sixth homer of the season.
- Kyle Booker hit his team-leading eighth home run of the year in the sixth.
- Amani Larry reached twice and scored two of Mississippi’s four runs.
- Joshua Shelly singled and made a highlight defensive play at shortstop.
- Kevin Brown made his first appearance of the season after being activated ahead of the Canada trip.
First Game in Canada
Mississippi opened a six-game series against Ottawa.
Playing 1,451 miles away from Trustmark Park, the Mud Monsters began their first foray into Canada with the opening game of a six-game series against the Titans.
Mississippi’s offense was retired in order by Ottawa starter Evan Grills to begin the top of the first.
Sergio Sanchez took the mound for Mississippi in the historic first matchup between the two clubs in the Land of the Maple Leaf.
The right-hander from San Cristobal, Dominican Republic became the first Mud Monsters pitcher to throw a pitch in Canada, delivering a strike to leadoff man AJ Wright before hitting him with his second offering.
The next batter, Jackie Urbaez, reached on an error that pushed both runners into scoring position at second and third.
A run-scoring groundout followed to open the scoring at 1-0 Titans before Caleb Burr singled home Urbaez to make it 2-0.
Sanchez then issued back-to-back walks to load the bases.
The very next pitch to Hunter Stokley unloaded them as the Ottawa designated hitter blasted a grand slam to extend the Titans’ lead to 6-0.
Ottawa eventually sent all nine batters to the plate before Sanchez escaped the opening frame.
Holt Answers
The third baseman put Mississippi on the board in the second.
Mississippi answered in its second offensive opportunity after Amani Larry picked up an infield single to lead off the inning.
One batter later with one out, Holt unloaded on a two-run home run for his sixth of the season, putting the Mud Monsters on the board and cutting the deficit to 6-2.
Ottawa Keeps Adding
The Titans scored in the second, third and fourth to build the lead.
Sanchez appeared to settle in during the bottom of the second after striking out Urbaez looking for the first out, but following a one-out walk to Taylor Wright, Burr connected on a two-run homer to restore Ottawa’s six-run advantage at 8-2.
Skinner picked up a single to begin the top of the third before Booker joined him on the basepaths after being hit by a Grills offering.
AJ Fritz followed by grounding into a triple play around the horn, abruptly ending the Mississippi threat.
In the bottom of the third with one away, Sanchez walked Jake Steels, who stole second for the second time in the game.
A single by Mitsuki Fukuda followed to put Titans on the corners before AJ Wright lifted a fly ball to center field deep enough to bring home Steels and extend Ottawa’s lead to 9-2.
After the Mud Monsters were retired in order in the top of the fourth, the Titans continued to find success against Sanchez in the bottom half.
Burr doubled with one out before Myles Smith reached on Sanchez’s fifth walk of the evening.
A fielder’s choice off the bat of Kaiden Cardoso recorded the second out but put runners on the corners.
Stokley and Steels followed with back-to-back RBI singles to stretch Ottawa’s advantage to 11-2.
Forsyth Takes Over
The bullpen entered in the fifth after Sanchez’s night ended.
Despite Joshua Shelly picking up a two-out single in the top of the fifth, the Mud Monsters were unable to muster any runs in the inning.
Braden Forsyth took over on the mound in the bottom of the fifth, replacing Sanchez and closing the book on the Mississippi starter.
Sanchez finished his outing going 4.0 innings while allowing 11 runs, 10 earned, on seven hits and five walks while striking out three.
Forsyth walked the first batter he faced, putting AJ Wright aboard before Urbaez doubled to put both runners in scoring position with no outs.
Taylor Wright then grounded out to second to bring home AJ Wright and make it 12-2 before Burr connected on a sacrifice fly to score Urbaez and extend the lead to 13-2.
Booker Goes Deep
The left fielder launched his team-leading eighth home run.
In the top of the sixth, Mississippi got a run back after Booker led off the frame with a solo home run for his team-leading eighth big fly of the season to make it 13-3 Ottawa.
Forsyth continued his outing in the home half of the inning, and the Titans answered right back.
Stokley connected on his second home run of the evening to lead off the frame with a solo shot, increasing Ottawa’s lead to 14-3.
A single followed by two consecutive free passes loaded the bases before Urbaez hit a sacrifice fly to bring home the second run of the inning and make it 15-3.
Another walk reloaded the bases, but Forsyth pitched his way out of the traffic without allowing any further damage.
Schueller Settles It Down
The rookie right-hander posted Mississippi’s first scoreless inning of the evening.
Jase Schueller entered from the Mud Monsters bullpen in the bottom of the seventh, taking the ball from Forsyth.
The rookie right-hander from Kelso, Washington, posted Mississippi’s first scoreless inning of the evening while recording a strikeout for the second out.
Ottawa turned to its bullpen in the top of the eighth, bringing in right-hander Jack Kalisky.
The Titans reliever hit Skinner with a pitch before Booker replaced him on the basepaths after grounding into a fielder’s choice, but Mississippi stranded the runner at first.
Schueller remained on the mound in the bottom of the eighth after his scoreless first inning of work and walked AJ Wright to begin the frame.
After striking out Urbaez for the first out, Schueller surrendered a base hit to Taylor Wright to put two Ottawa baserunners aboard.
Burr then grounded a ball to third that Holt made a diving stop on, but his throw sailed wide of first, allowing another Ottawa run to score and make it 16-3.
Final Frame
Larry scored Mississippi’s fourth run in the ninth.
Kalisky remained on the mound in the top of the ninth looking for the final three outs of the ballgame and hit Larry with a pitch to put the leadoff man aboard.
A groundout to first pushed Larry to second before a passed ball advanced him another 90 feet to third.
With Holt at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Larry to cross home and give Mississippi its fourth and final run of the evening.
Kalisky recorded the final out to close out Ottawa’s 16-4 welcome to Canada over Mississippi.
Full Box Score
Ottawa 16, Mississippi 4 - Aug. 18, 2026 at Ottawa Stadium
Line Score
Box Score Notes
Mississippi home runs: Holt hit a two-run home run in the second inning off Grills. Booker hit a solo home run in the sixth inning off Grills.
Ottawa extra-base hits: Burr and Urbaez doubled. Stokley homered twice and Burr homered once.
RBIs: Mississippi - Booker, Holt 2. Ottawa - AJ Wright, Urbaez, Taylor Wright 2, Burr 5, Stokley 6, Steels.
Hit by pitch: Booker was hit by Grills. Skinner and Larry were hit by Kalisky. AJ Wright was hit by Sanchez.
Pitching: Sanchez 103 pitches, 58 strikes. Forsyth 57 pitches, 30 strikes. Schueller 32 pitches, 17 strikes. Grills 81 pitches, 58 strikes. Kalisky 31 pitches, 18 strikes.
Game information: Ottawa Stadium. Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. First pitch: 6:35 p.m. Final out: 9:27 p.m. Time of game: 2:52. Attendance: 2,731. Weather: 25 C, feels like 28 C. Wind: 19 km/h SO, gusts 29 km/h.
Umpires: Ken Jackson, Lukas Naley and Mateusz Puszczalczalo. Official scorer: Monique St-Laurent.
Game Two in Ottawa
The Mud Monsters continue their six-game road series against the Titans Wednesday evening.
First pitch from Ottawa Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT). Right-hander Jackson Smith (4-2, 4.86) gets the start for Mississippi while Ottawa counters with fellow right-hander Yohanse Morel (3-2, 4.31).
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.