Five-Run Fifth Sinks Mud Monsters in 8-1 Loss to Titans
OTTAWA, Ontario (Aug. 19, 2026) - After both teams were held scoreless through four innings, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (33-52) were unable to hold the Ottawa Titans (49-36) offense at bay as a five-run fifth inning propelled the Titans to an 8-1 victory Wednesday evening.
Monster Notes
Jackson Smith struck out the side in the first and set a new career high in strikeouts.
- Jackson Smith struck out seven batters, setting a new career high.
- Brayland Skinner collected two hits, stole a base and drove in Mississippi’s only run.
- Amani Larry doubled in the seventh inning and later stole third.
- Tevis Payne II reached twice with a single and a walk, scoring Mississippi’s lone run.
- John Walsh worked three innings of relief and posted scoreless sixth and seventh frames.
Smith Starts Strong
The right-hander struck out the side in the first inning.
Looking to rebound after dropping their first-ever matchup in Canada in blowout fashion, the Mud Monsters sent Jackson Smith to the mound.
Mississippi leadoff man Brayland Skinner began the evening with a base hit, but a double-play ball recorded the first two outs before the Mud Monsters were held scoreless in the top of the first.
The right-hander from Raymond, Mississippi, took the ball in the bottom of the first for his 11th start of the season and 19th appearance overall.
Smith struck out leadoff man AJ Wright looking for the first out before allowing a single. The right-hander followed with back-to-back strikeouts of Taylor Wright and Caleb Burr to strike out the side.
Early Traffic
Mississippi put runners on the corners in the third but came up empty.
After the Mud Monsters offense was retired in order by Yohanse Morel in the top of the second, Smith continued his strong start by striking out Myles Smith to begin the home half.
A walk to Kaiden Cardoso followed before a fielder’s choice eliminated him on a forceout at second but put Hunter Stokely aboard.
Smith induced a flyout to keep the game scoreless.
The originally scheduled starter for the Titans, left-hander Dominic Puccetti, took over on the mound in the top of the third after Morel tossed two scoreless innings.
Tevis Payne II and Joshua Shelly picked up consecutive singles with one out before Skinner grounded into a fielder’s choice that eliminated Shelly but allowed Skinner to reach, putting runners on the corners.
Despite the scoring opportunity, Puccetti pitched his way out of the jam to keep the game scoreless.
Smith Escapes Again
The right-hander kept Ottawa off the board through four innings.
Smith ran into traffic with one out in the bottom of the third after AJ Wright singled and Jackie Urbaez reached on an error by first baseman Karell Paz.
For the second time in the ballgame, Smith struck out Taylor Wright and Burr back-to-back to escape the inning.
Against Puccetti in the top of the fourth, AJ Fritz began the inning with a walk and stole second, but the Mud Monsters were unable to bring him home.
Smith allowed a leadoff baserunner in the bottom of the fourth with a walk to Myles Smith, but a nifty 3-6-1 double play turned by Paz, Shelly and Smith recorded the first two outs.
A groundout to shortstop followed to end the inning and give Smith a fourth consecutive scoreless frame.
Five-Run Fifth
Ottawa broke the scoreless tie and took control.
The Mississippi bats were retired in the top of the fifth as the game remained scoreless.
That was the final frame of scoreless baseball as Ottawa’s offense awoke in the bottom half.
A walk to Thomas Ferroggiaro began the frame before Michael Fuhrman singled to put two Titans aboard.
A two-run double by AJ Wright brought home the first runs of the ballgame to make it 2-0 Ottawa.
After Smith recorded the first out, Taylor Wright doubled home AJ Wright to increase the lead to 3-0 before Burr smashed his second two-run home run of the series to cap a five-run inning and make it 5-0 Titans.
Skinner Reaches Again
The center fielder collected his second hit and stole second in the sixth.
Puccetti remained on the mound in the sixth, where Skinner singled for his second hit of the evening and stole second.
The Ottawa southpaw recorded the first out on a strikeout before Titans manager Bobby Brown went to the bullpen and brought in right-hander Ted Stuka.
Skinner was thrown out attempting to steal third for the second out before Stuka induced a groundout to maintain Ottawa’s 5-0 advantage.
Left-hander John Walsh emerged from the Mississippi bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, taking the ball from Smith and ending the right-hander’s evening.
Smith finished his start going 5.0 innings while allowing five runs on six hits and six walks while striking out a career-high seven batters.
Walsh Works Through Traffic
The left-hander kept Ottawa off the board in the sixth and seventh.
Walsh walked AJ Wright to begin his outing, and the runner eventually moved to third, but the southpaw pitched his way out of the inning to toss a scoreless sixth.
In the top of the seventh, Amani Larry picked up his first hit of the evening with a leadoff double and later stole third, but once again, Stuka pitched his way out of the scoring opportunity to keep Mississippi off the board.
Walsh followed with his second consecutive scoreless inning in the bottom of the seventh to hold the 5-0 score.
Mississippi Gets on the Board
Skinner drove in Payne II in the eighth inning.
Christian Scafidi, who the Mud Monsters faced earlier this season as a member of the Lake Erie Crushers, entered from Ottawa’s bullpen in the top of the eighth.
After walking Payne II to begin the inning, Scafidi uncorked a wild pitch that pushed him to second before Shelly grounded out to advance Payne II to third.
Skinner followed with an RBI groundout to plate Payne II, breaking up the shutout and making it a 5-1 game.
Walsh returned for his third inning of relief in the bottom of the eighth.
After a walk to Fuhrman began the inning, he stole second and third before another walk to AJ Wright put runners on the corners with no outs.
A sacrifice fly by Urbaez brought home Fuhrman to make it 6-1.
Then, with two outs, Burr connected on his second home run of the evening, a two-run blast that scored AJ Wright and extended Ottawa’s advantage to 8-1.
Final Frame
Garcia closed out Ottawa’s game-two victory.
Down to their final three outs in the top of the ninth, the Mud Monsters faced right-hander Brett Garcia out of Ottawa’s bullpen.
Garcia retired Mississippi in order to close out the Titans’ 8-1 game-two victory.
Full Box Score
Ottawa 8, Mississippi 1 - Aug. 19, 2026 at Ottawa Stadium
Line Score
Box Score Notes
Mississippi extra-base hit: Larry doubled in the seventh inning off Stuka.
Ottawa extra-base hits: AJ Wright doubled in the fifth. Taylor Wright doubled in the fifth. Burr hit two home runs, one in the fifth off Smith and one in the eighth off Walsh.
RBIs: Mississippi - Skinner. Ottawa - AJ Wright 2, Urbaez, Taylor Wright, Burr 4.
Defense: Mississippi turned two double plays and committed two errors. Ottawa turned one double play and played errorless defense.
Base running: Skinner, Fritz and Larry stole bases for Mississippi. Fuhrman stole two bases for Ottawa. Skinner was caught stealing.
Pitching: Smith 103 pitches, 57 strikes. Walsh 60 pitches, 30 strikes. Morel 24 pitches, 18 strikes. Puccetti 52 pitches, 34 strikes. Stuka 19 pitches, 12 strikes. Scafidi 21 pitches, 11 strikes. Garcia 20 pitches, 14 strikes.
Game information: Ottawa Stadium. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. First pitch: 6:38 p.m. Final out: 9:26 p.m. Time of game: 2:42. Attendance: 1,434. Weather: 23 C, feels like 27 C. Wind: 13 km/h O, gusts 20 km/h.
Umpires: Lukas Naley, Mateusz Puszczalo and Ken Jackson. Official scorer: Monique St-Laurent.
Game Three in Ottawa
The Mud Monsters continue their six-game road series against the Titans Thursday evening.
First pitch from Ottawa Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. CT). Right-hander Brian Williams (2-8, 6.42) gets the start for Mississippi while Ottawa counters with fellow right-hander Ky Hampton (2-4, 5.29).
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.