Rose, Payne II Back Belton’s Quality Start in 6-3 Victory
PEARL, Miss. (May 27, 2026) - After an off day on Tuesday, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (8-9) picked up right where they left off, earning a second straight 6-3 victory over the Tri-City ValleyCats (3-12).
Monster Notes
Belton dealt, Rose and Payne II drove the bottom of the order, and Barraza shut the door.
- Hunter Belton tossed six innings of one-run baseball for his first win of the season.
- Nathan Rose tripled, scored and drove in two runs from the bottom third of the lineup.
- Tevis Payne II entered as an injury replacement and drove in two runs.
- Chris Barraza secured his fourth save with two strikeouts in the ninth.
Belton’s Best
The right-hander delivered six strong innings in his first Trustmark Park start.
Hunter Belton got the start, his third of the season and first at Trustmark Park. The right-hander took the mound looking for his first win of the year and delivered his best outing to date, tossing six innings of one-run baseball while allowing three hits, striking out five and walking four.
Mississippi played from behind early after Tri-City opened the scoring in the first inning on an RBI single by RJ Stinson.
Mississippi’s offense was driven by the bottom third of the lineup as Nathan Rose and Tevis Payne II combined to bring home four runs.
Rose and Payne Answer
The Mud Monsters turned a scary first-inning moment into a fourth-inning lead.
Triple, sac fly, Mud Monsters lead
After a scary moment in the first inning saw Tri-City starter Gino Sabatine strike Andrew Semo in the face with a pitch during his first at-bat, Payne II entered the game as an injury replacement at first base.
The Mud Monsters answered Tri-City’s first inning run with two of their own in the fourth. Samil De La Rosa was hit on the wrist with one out before Rose smashed a game-tying triple into right-center field to knot the game at 1-1.
Payne II, in his first at-bat after entering the game, followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Rose and give Mississippi a 2-1 lead.
Rose Triples, Payne Brings Him Home
Insurance Arrives
Mississippi added two more in the sixth behind Rose and Payne II.
Both offenses laid dormant over the next two innings as Belton shut down the ValleyCats while Sabatine settled in against Mississippi, carrying the 2-1 score into the bottom of the sixth.
A leadoff walk to Kasten Furr was followed by a double from De La Rosa to put two Mud Monsters in scoring position.
Rose lifted a sacrifice fly to score Furr and extend Mississippi’s advantage before Payne II lined a one-out opposite-field single into right field to plate De La Rosa and make it 4-1.
Payne II Adds Insurance
ValleyCats Push Back
Tri-City cut the lead to one in the seventh.
Those insurance runs proved crucial as the ValleyCats offense found life in the top of the seventh. With Belton out of the game, Gage Bihm entered for his first appearance of the 2026 season after being activated off the 14-Day Injured List on Sunday in Schaumburg.
The Louisiana left-hander allowed a leadoff single to pinch hitter Amani Larry, who later stole second during Dylan Broderick’s at-bat. Broderick followed with an RBI double to cut Mississippi’s lead to 4-2.
Bihm induced a groundout to Rose at second base for the inning’s first out, but the play allowed Broderick to advance to third.
Mud Monsters manager Jay Pecci then turned to Connor Langrell out of the bullpen. With Broderick at third, Ranko Stevanovic lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run before Langrell recorded a strikeout to end the inning and hold Mississippi’s lead at 4-3.
Holt-Rose-Holman Around the Horn
Answering Back
The Mud Monsters added two more after the stretch.
After the stretch, the Mud Monsters loaded the bases with one out against Tri-City reliever Logan Jones. Kyle Booker walked before Travis Holt and Jack Holman were both hit by pitches to fill the bases.
Tri-City responded by bringing in Nate Nabholz out of the bullpen. His first batter, Furr, grounded into a run-scoring fielder’s choice as the ValleyCats attempted to turn two but only retired Holman at second base.
With runners on the corners, Furr stole second and Stevanovic’s throw down to second allowed Holt to steal home and extend Mississippi’s lead to 6-3.
Barraza Closes
The bullpen handed it to Barraza, and the right-hander finished the job.
Langrell returned for a scoreless eighth inning and handed the game over to Chris Barraza in the ninth for his second save opportunity of the series.
Barraza walked Larry to begin the inning before retiring the next three batters in order on a fly out and consecutive swinging strikeouts to secure the victory along with his fourth save.
Next Game
The Mud Monsters continue their series against the ValleyCats on Thursday night for Thirsty Thursday at Trustmark Park.
Fans can enjoy the Beer Batter promotion along with $2 16-ounce domestic draft beers. It will also be Tarps Off Night, with adults invited to run the bases following the game.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. Mississippi sends right-hander Brenton Thiels (0-2, 15.32) to the mound while Tri-City counters with fellow righty Austin Dill (2-0, 4.09).
Final Box Score
The full numbers from Mississippi’s 6-3 win over Tri-City.
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tri-City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | X | 6 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
Tri-City Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broderick, RF | .280 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Jobert, 1B | .277 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| Stinson, C | .300 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Stevanovic, C | .148 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Walters, 3B | .188 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Glancy, LF | .205 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Moody, DH | .300 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Leslie, SS | .256 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Hext, CF | .176 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Coddu, 2B | .273 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Larry, PH | .205 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 30 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 10 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | PO | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skinner, CF | .288 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Booker, RF | .253 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Holt, 3B | .318 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Holman, 1B | .345 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
| Furr, LF | .346 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| De La Rosa, DH | .275 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rose, 2B | .190 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Semo, C | .314 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| Payne II, C | .375 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Schield, SS | .340 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | |
| Totals | 27 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 27 | 8 |
Tri-City Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sabatine L | 6.19 | 5.2 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 |
| Jones | 1.50 | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Nabholz | 33.86 | 1.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belton W | 1.80 | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 26 |
| Bihm | 54.00 | 0.1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Langrell | 1.80 | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Barraza SV | 0.82 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
Batting
Tri-City: 2B: Broderick. RBI: Broderick, Stinson, Stevanovic. HBP: Leslie, Moody, Leslie. GIDP: Stevanovic. SF: Stevanovic. E: Jones. SB: Broderick, Stinson, Leslie, Larry. CS: Leslie.
Mississippi: 2B: De La Rosa. 3B: Rose. RBI: Furr, Rose 2, Payne II 2. HBP: Semo, De La Rosa, Holt, Holman. GIDP: Schield. SF: Rose, Payne II. DP: Holt-Rose-Holman. PB: Semo. SB: Holt, Furr.
Pitching
Pitches-Strikes: Sabatine 82-50, Jones 19-6, Nabholz 22-14; Belton 111-61, Bihm 3-7, Langrell 27-16, Barraza 17-9.
Batters Faced: Sabatine 26, Jones 5, Nabholz 5; Belton 26, Bihm 3, Langrell 6, Barraza 4.
Wild Pitches: Belton 1.
Game Information
Venue: Trustmark Park. Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2026. Start: 11:00 a.m. Final: 1:55 p.m. Attendance: 1,119.
Umpires: HP Wes Dunkle, 1B Dylan Graham, 3B Jose Muriente.
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.