Mud Monsters Hit Two Homers Late, Slammers Shut Door on Comeback
PEARL, Miss. (June 10, 2026) - The Mississippi Mud Monsters (11-18) found late life in the form of home runs from Andrew Semo and Kasten Furr, but the rally came too late as the Joliet Slammers (11-17) claimed a 7-4 victory Wednesday evening at Trustmark Park.
Monster Notes
Mississippi went deep twice late, but Joliet built enough of a lead to even the series.
- Andrew Semo homered for the second straight night and tied Jack Holman for the team lead with his fourth of the season.
- Kasten Furr added a two-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning.
- Brian Williams struck out seven across five innings in his seventh start of the season.
- Dallas Woolfolk made his Mud Monsters debut with a scoreless seventh inning.
Joliet Strikes First
Brian Williams took the ball for Mississippi in his seventh start of the season. The right-hander out of Texas entered with a 2-0 record and a 1.00 ERA in three starts against the Slammers during the 2025 season.
For the second consecutive night, the Mud Monsters found themselves needing an answer after Joliet struck first.
After the second and third Slammers batters reached on a single and a walk, a sacrifice fly advanced the runner from second to third before a stolen base put both runners in scoring position.
Williams was called for a balk during the next at-bat, allowing the first Joliet run to score.
The Mud Monsters squandered a bases-loaded opportunity in the bottom of the second after an AJ Fritz single was followed by a hit-by-pitch to Semo and a walk to Slater Schield.
Joliet starter Eric Turner escaped the jam with a pop out and back-to-back strikeouts.
Slammers Add On
The 1-0 deficit remained until the fifth inning when the Slammers broke through again. A one-out RBI single made it 2-0 before first baseman Jackson Valera launched a two-out, two-run home run to extend the lead to 4-0.
Williams finished his evening after five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out seven.
After Williams exited, Dusty Baird came on in relief.
Joliet added two more runs in the sixth after a leadoff walk and a one-out single put two aboard. A wild 1-2 pitch moved both runners into scoring position before Brandon Heidal lined a two-run single to make it 6-0.
Woolfolk Debuts
Dallas Woolfolk, a Hernando, Mississippi native, made his Mud Monsters debut after being acquired from the Schaumburg Boomers earlier in the week. The right-hander tossed a scoreless seventh inning.
Joliet added its seventh and final run in the eighth. After Braden Forsyth struck out the first batter he faced, a walk to Ian Battipaglia put a runner aboard.
Battipaglia stole both second and third before scoring on a Blake Berry single to make it 7-0.
Late Life
The Mud Monsters finally broke through in the bottom of the eighth.
With two outs, Fritz drew a walk and Semo launched a two-run home run into the left-field bullpen to end Joliet’s shutout bid. The blast was Semo’s fourth of the season, tying Jack Holman for the team lead.
Back-to-Back Games with a Big Fly
Andrew Semo's two-run shot broke up the shutout in the eighth.
Forsyth completed a second scoreless inning in the ninth to keep the deficit at five.
In Mississippi’s final trip to the plate, Peter Bocchino worked a leadoff walk and, two batters later with two outs, Furr connected on a two-run home run off the left-field foul pole to make it a 7-4 game.
After the homer, Booker collected his second hit of the night and Joliet turned to Greyson Linderman to record the final out.
Linderman struck out the lone batter he faced to secure the 7-4 victory for the Slammers.
Final-Out Fight
Down to the final out, Kasten Furr added a two-run shot of his own.
Full Box Score
Joliet 7, Mississippi 4 - June 10, 2026 at Trustmark Park
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joliet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 10 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
Joliet Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battipaglia, 2B | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ward, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Berry, RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Valera, 1B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Suto, LF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Beaman, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Marine, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Rich, CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Heidal, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 38 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 10 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skinner, CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Furr, LF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Booker, RF | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Holt, DH | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Fritz, 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Semo, C | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Schield, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bocchino, 1B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Reed, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Joliet Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turner W | 6.2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Carroll | 1.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Soto | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Linderman SV | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 2 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams L | 5.0 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Baird | 1.0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Woolfolk | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Forsyth | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 1 |
Game Notes
2B: Joliet - Jake Beaman. Mississippi - Vantrel Reed.
HR: Joliet - Jackson Valera. Mississippi - Andrew Semo, Kasten Furr.
RBI: Joliet - Patrick Ward, Blake Berry, Jackson Valera 2, Brandon Heidal 2. Mississippi - Kasten Furr 2, Andrew Semo 2.
Fielding: Mississippi error: Vantrel Reed.
Base Running: Joliet stolen base: Ian Battipaglia. Mississippi stolen bases: Brayland Skinner, Kyle Booker, Peter Bocchino. Brayland Skinner was caught stealing.
Pitching: Turner 92 pitches, 54 strikes. Williams 92 pitches, 59 strikes. Baird 38 pitches, 21 strikes. Woolfolk 21 pitches, 11 strikes. Forsyth 31 pitches, 21 strikes.
Game Information: Trustmark Park. First pitch: 6:35 p.m. Final out: 9:40 p.m. Time of game: 3:05. Attendance: 1,225. Weather: 90 degrees, wind 9 mph south.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters continue their six-game home series against the Slammers on Thursday evening with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Southpaw Art Joven (3-1, 4.26) takes the ball for Mississippi while Joliet counters with Blane Zeplin (0-0, 40.50).
Fans can celebrate the 30th anniversary of Happy Gilmore during Golf Night presented by WJTV, Michelob Ultra and Budweiser. The first 500 fans age 21 and older will receive a bucket hat courtesy of Michelob Ultra. Thursday is also Thirsty Thursday featuring all the Beer Batter fun with $2 16-ounce domestic drafts, Byrum Community Night and Adults Run the Bases presented by ELITE PT following the game.
Coming Up This Week
Swamp Ass Saturday is waiting at the end of the homestand.
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.