Booker’s Five RBI Day Powers Mud Monsters Past Otters
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (June 3, 2026) - The Mississippi Mud Monsters (10-13) bounced back in game two of their series against the Evansville Otters (14-8) as Kyle Booker drove in five runs and Tevis Payne II launched his first professional home run in an 8-4 victory.
Monster Notes
Booker powered the offense, Payne II made history, and Mississippi evened the series.
- Kyle Booker finished 4-for-5 with a home run, double, two runs scored, and five RBI.
- Tevis Payne II tripled, homered, scored twice, and launched the first professional home run of his career.
- Jackson Smith earned the win after allowing three runs, two earned, across five innings with five strikeouts.
- Chris Barraza struck out the side in the ninth to close Mississippi’s tenth win of the season.
Booker Strikes First
Mississippi jumped in front with one swing in the opening inning.
Jackson Smith toed the rubber, making his third start for Mississippi, and Kyle Booker gave him a 2-0 lead to work with in the first inning.
With Kasten Furr aboard, Booker launched a two-run home run off Evansville starter Ryan Wiltse to put the Mud Monsters on top before Smith returned to the mound.
The score held through two innings before Smith ran into trouble the second time through the Otters order in the third.
Evansville Answers
The Otters used a three-run third to move in front.
Otters take the lead
Number nine hitter Cohen Wilbanks singled after dropping a bunt back to Smith, and the right-hander’s throw to first sailed into the Evansville dugout, allowing Wilbanks to advance to second.
A wild pitch moved the runner to third before Jon Ponder walked to put runners on the corners. TJ Salvaggio then reached on an error to bring home Wilbanks and put the Otters on the board at 2-1.
Ponder moved to third on the play, and Logan Brown bunted a ball back to Smith, who flipped it to Payne II to record the out at home.
Dennis Pierce followed with an RBI double to score Salvaggio as the tying run, and Blake Robertson’s groundout brought home Brown to give Evansville a 3-2 lead.
Mississippi Responds
Booker delivered again in a four-run fourth inning.
Mississippi refused to take its foot off the gas pedal in the top of the fourth, formulating a four-run answer to take back the lead.
Three consecutive singles with one out by Peter Bocchino, AJ Fritz and Brayland Skinner loaded the bases for Booker.
Booker then took a 2-0 offering from Wiltse and hammered it off the wall in center field for a bases-clearing double, collecting RBIs No. 3, 4 and 5 on the day and pushing Mississippi’s lead to 5-3.
Travis Holt followed with an RBI single up the middle to bring home Booker and make it 6-3 before the inning came to a close.
Smith Holds Steady
The right-hander worked through five and earned the win.
Five innings, five strikeouts
Mississippi picked up run number seven in the top of the fifth after Payne II lined a triple down the left field line and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Jackson Nicklaus, making it 7-3.
Aside from the three-run third inning, Smith kept the Otters in check for the remainder of his outing.
The Raymond, Mississippi native finished five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, on three hits while walking two and striking out five. The outing established new season highs in both innings pitched and strikeouts.
Tristan House took over for Smith and tossed a scoreless sixth inning before recording the first two outs of the seventh. Jon Ponder then connected on a solo home run to cut the Mississippi lead to 7-4.
Connor Langrell relieved House in the eighth and bounced back from his outing in game one by tossing a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts.
In the ninth, Payne II put an exclamation point on the day, launching the first professional home run of his career for insurance to extend Mississippi’s lead to 8-4.
Despite it not being a save opportunity, Chris Barraza took the ball in the ninth and, after issuing a leadoff walk, struck out the side to seal Mississippi’s tenth win of the season.
Full Box Score
Mississippi 8, Evansville 4 - June 3, 2026 at EVC’s Historic Bosse Field
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 4 | 9 |
| Evansville | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brayland Skinner, CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kasten Furr, LF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Kyle Booker, RF | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Travis Holt, DH | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Slater Schield, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Tevis Payne II, C | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Jackson Nicklaus, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Peter Bocchino, 1B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| AJ Fritz, 3B | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 37 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
Evansville Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon Ponder, CF | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| TJ Salvaggio, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Logan Brown, DH | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Pierce, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Blake Robertson, RF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Marcos Gonzalez, 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jomar Black, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Ernie Cruz, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cohen Wilbanks, C | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 32 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Smith W | 5.0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Tristan House | 2.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Connor Langrell | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Chris Barraza | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 1 |
Evansville Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Wiltse L | 5.0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 1 |
| Jacob Morrissey | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan Anderson | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| George Zentko | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Harrison Eckaus | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
Game Notes
2B: Mississippi - Kyle Booker. Evansville - Dennis Pierce.
3B: Mississippi - Tevis Payne II.
HR: Mississippi - Kyle Booker, Tevis Payne II. Evansville - Jon Ponder.
RBI: Mississippi - Kyle Booker 5, Travis Holt, Tevis Payne II, Jackson Nicklaus. Evansville - Jon Ponder, TJ Salvaggio, Dennis Pierce, Blake Robertson.
Fielding: Mississippi turned one double play. Evansville turned one double play. Mississippi committed four errors. Evansville errors: Ernie Cruz, Cohen Wilbanks.
Base Running: Kyle Booker and Slater Schield stole bases for Mississippi. Jon Ponder stole a base for Evansville. Travis Holt was caught stealing.
Pitching: Smith 77 pitches, 48 strikes. House 37 pitches, 18 strikes. Langrell 15 pitches, 10 strikes. Barraza 22 pitches, 11 strikes. Wiltse 94 pitches, 55 strikes.
Game Information: EVC’s Historic Bosse Field. Time of game: 2:45. Attendance: 2,410. Weather: 78 degrees, wind SW at 10 mph.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters close out their three-game series against the Otters on Thursday evening before heading to Sauget, Illinois for three games against the Gateway Grizzlies. First pitch is scheduled for 6:25 p.m. CT.
Right-hander Brian Williams (0-3, 7.09) gets the start for Mississippi while Evansville counters with fellow right-hander Ben Petschke (1-0, 3.04).
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.