PEARL, Miss. (Aug. 26, 2026) — The Mississippi Mud Monsters (36-55) had trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark as two home runs from Carlos Pena helped power the Windy City ThunderBolts (49-43) to a 9-2 victory Wednesday afternoon at Trustmark Park.Looking to even the series after dropping Tuesday evening’s opener, the Mud Monsters sent Brian Williams to the mound.The right-hander out of Bryan, Texas crossed the 100-inning mark for the second consecutive season in his previous start, when he earned the win in Mississippi’s first international victory against the Ottawa Titans.For the second straight game, Windy City struck first.Williams issued a one-out walk to Michael Sandle in the top of the first before Sandle stole second to move into scoring position.One batter later with two outs, Jared Beebe went the opposite way for an RBI single to score Sandle and open the scoring at 1-0.Pena followed with his first two-run home run of the afternoon to extend the lead to 3-0. After Robbie Ayers drew a walk and stole second, Daryl Ruiz added another RBI single to stretch the ThunderBolts’ advantage to 4-0.AJ Fritz collected a two-out double in Mississippi’s first offensive opportunity against Windy City starter Isaac Milburn, but the Mud Monsters were held scoreless in the bottom of the first.Williams rebounded in the top of the second with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out the final two batters he faced.After Mississippi was held scoreless in the bottom of the second, Williams returned for the top of the third and Justin Fogel started the frame with a leadoff double.One batter later with one out, Pena lifted his second home run of the afternoon over the right-field wall. His second two-run blast of the game extended Windy City’s advantage to 6-0.Milburn retired the Mississippi offense in order in the bottom of the third before Williams ran into immediate traffic in the top of the fourth.A walk to Tony Livermore started the inning before Josue Urdaneta singled and Liam McArthur reached on a bunt single to load the bases with nobody out.Despite the threat, Williams Houdinied his way out of the jam, using a pair of flyouts and his third strikeout of the afternoon to strand all three runners and keep the deficit at six.In the home half, Fritz, who owned Mississippi’s only hit to that point, collected his second double of the afternoon with one out.A groundout to first by Karell Paz advanced Fritz 90 feet to third before Tevis Payne II delivered a two-out RBI single to bring him home and put Mississippi on the board at 6-1.Windy City got the run back in the top of the fifth after Williams surrendered a two-out double to Ruiz.Livermore followed with a single into right field that Paz came up firing on. His throw reached the plate, but Ruiz slid underneath Payne II’s tag to make it a 7-1 ballgame.Joshua Shelly led off the bottom of the fifth with a double for his first hit of the afternoon.One batter later with one out, Slater Schield sent a single into right field just beyond the reach of second baseman Urdaneta to put runners on the corners.Schield then got caught in a rundown attempting to steal second but stayed alive long enough for Shelly to race home from third, cutting Mississippi’s deficit to 7-2.The Mud Monsters turned to their bullpen in the top of the sixth, ending Williams’ afternoon.The right-hander finished his start going 5.0 innings while allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks while striking out three.Southpaw John Walsh entered in relief and retired the ThunderBolts in order to send the 7-2 score to the bottom of the sixth.With one out in the home half, Fritz singled for his third hit of the afternoon. Payne II later drew a two-out walk to join him on the basepaths, but Mississippi was held scoreless.Walsh continued his relief outing into the top of the seventh and issued a leadoff walk to Beebe before a wild pitch advanced him to second.Pena then lifted a fly ball deep into right field, allowing Beebe to tag and advance to third.Ayers followed with an RBI double to extend the Windy City advantage to 8-2 before Walsh worked his way out of the inning.Vantrel Reed singled with one out in the bottom of the seventh for his first hit of the afternoon, but the Mud Monsters were unable to bring him around.Walsh returned for his third inning of work in the top of the eighth and allowed a leadoff single to Urdaneta.The left-hander struck out McArthur for the first out before Sandle drew a walk to put two ThunderBolts aboard.Fogel followed with an RBI single to push Windy City’s advantage to 9-2.Walsh recovered to record the final two outs on a popup and his second strikeout of the afternoon.Windy City turned to its bullpen in the bottom of the eighth, bringing out right-hander Zach Cameron.Cameron struck out the first two Mississippi batters he faced before Paz doubled to put a runner aboard, but the Mud Monsters were held scoreless.Jase Schueller took over for Walsh in the top of the ninth and the rookie right-hander struck out the first batter he faced before surrendering a one-out single to Ruiz.One batter later with two outs, Schueller issued a walk to Urdaneta before recording the final out to post a scoreless ninth.Down to their final three outs against Cameron, the Mud Monsters put their leadoff man aboard when Bridges singled.Victor Diaz entered as a pinch-hitter after Shelly fouled off a pitch and exited the game.Cameron induced a double play on a ground ball off the bat of Diaz before striking out Reed to close the door on Windy City’s 9-2 victory.The Mud Monsters continue their six-game series against the ThunderBolts with game three Thursday evening. The matchup brings Act Like a Kid Night, where fans are invited to act like kids, in addition to Hats Off to Jackson State University Night. The Mud Monsters will take the field wearing special JSU hats that will be auctioned off following the game. Thursday also marks the final Thirsty Thursday of the season, featuring $2 16-ounce domestic drafts, a beer batter and postgame Adults Run the Bases presented by Elite PT. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT with gates opening at 5:30 p.m. CT. Right-handers clash as Julian Minaya (0-1, 6.28) gets the start for Mississippi while Windy City counters with Dante Maietta (1-4, 5.31).

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.