Otters Run All Over Mud Monsters, Hand Mississippi 13-1 Loss
EVANSVILLE, Ind. (June 19, 2026) - The Mississippi Mud Monsters (14-23) were outpaced by the Evansville Otters (24-12) Friday evening, dropping the opener of a three-game series by a 13-1 final score.
Monster Notes
Elliott continued to build up his workload, but Evansville broke the game open late.
- Eric Elliott made his second professional start and worked 3.0 innings.
- Elliott struck out three, walked one and allowed one run on four hits.
- Brayland Skinner reached twice with a hit and a walk.
- Tevis Payne II had another multi caught-stealing night behind the plate.
Elliott Builds Up
The left-hander made his second professional start.
After being swept by the Washington Wild Things, the Mud Monsters set their sights on starting fresh at Bosse Field behind the left arm of Eric Elliott.
The southpaw out of Maryland took the mound for his second professional start.
After working just two innings against Joliet last Saturday, Elliott continued to build up his workload, tossing 3.0 innings and 50 pitches.
In the outing, the left-hander struck out three, walked one and allowed one run on four hits.
The lone mistake came in the bottom of the third when TJ Salvaggio turned on a 1-1 offering and pulled it down the left field line for a solo homer that gave Evansville a 1-0 lead.
Evansville Adds On
The Otters extended the lead in the fourth and fifth.
The ball went from one left-hander to another as Gage Bihm took over in the fourth inning.
Offensive success continued for Evansville as Bihm's outing began.
Back-to-back singles by Logan Brown and Sam Linscott were followed by an RBI single from Marcos Gonzales to extend the lead to 2-0.
Later in the frame with two outs, a passed ball by Tevis Payne II allowed another run to score and make it 3-0.
In the fifth inning, Evansville tacked on another run via a Dennis Pierce solo homer to make it 4-0.
Mississippi Breaks Through
The Mud Monsters scratched across their lone run in the sixth.
The Mud Monsters were held to one hit through five innings by Evansville starter Garret Simpson before finally breaking through in the sixth.
After Kasten Furr drew a leadoff walk, Kyle Booker followed with an infield single and Brayland Skinner loaded the bases with a base hit of his own.
A passed ball with AJ Fritz at the plate allowed Mississippi's lone run to score, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Otters Break It Open
Evansville answered immediately in the bottom half of the sixth.
Any momentum was quickly erased in the bottom half of the inning.
Brayden Sanders entered in relief and hit the first batter he faced, LG Castillo, before Justin Wilbanks singled and Salvaggio reached on an error to bring home Castillo and make it a 5-1 Evansville lead.
Two runs came in on a double by Jon Ponder to increase the lead to 7-1.
An RBI double by Dennis Pierce allowed Ponder to score, and a one-out RBI single by Linscott brought home Pierce to make it a 9-1 Evansville advantage.
Braden Forsyth entered and recorded the final two outs of the sixth inning.
Four More in the Eighth
Evansville put the game away late.
Forsyth remained on the mound for the seventh and tossed a scoreless frame, but Evansville added four more runs in the eighth inning.
A one-out two-run double by Gonzales made it 11-1.
Later in the inning, a single by Castillo plated two more runs to make it 13-1, which stood as the final score.
Full Box Score
Evansville 13, Mississippi 1 - June 19, 2026
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Evansville | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | X | 13 | 19 | 0 | 8 |
Mississippi Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furr, LF | .306 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Booker, DH | .281 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Skinner, CF | .320 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Fritz, 3B | .300 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Holt, SS | .269 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Payne II, C | .305 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Zitella, PH | .071 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Reed, 2B | .182 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bocchino, 1B | .205 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Mitzel, RF | .000 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 31 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
Evansville Batting
| Player | AVG | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ponder, CF | .368 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Jones, 2B | .288 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Pierce, DH | .328 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brown, 1B | .359 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Linscott, RF | .365 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Gonzalez, 3B | .323 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Castillo, LF | .398 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Wilbanks, C | .129 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Salvaggio, SS | .280 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 39 | 13 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 8 |
Mississippi Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott L | 3.00 | 3.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Bihm | 7.71 | 2.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 12 |
| Sanders | 11.25 | 0.2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Forsyth | 10.80 | 2.1 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 19 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 2 |
Evansville Pitching
| Pitcher | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simpson W | 4.58 | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 |
| Theibay | 2.96 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| Valdez | 4.96 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Garcia | 3.86 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
Box Score Notes
Mississippi: Game-ending double play - Holt. Double plays turned - Holt-Reed-Bocchino twice and Reed-Holt-Bocchino. Error - Fritz. Passed balls - Payne II 2.
Evansville extra-base hits: Brown double in the fifth, Ponder double in the sixth, Pierce double in the sixth, Gonzalez double in the eighth, Salvaggio home run in the third and Pierce home run in the fifth.
RBIs: Ponder 2, Pierce 2, Linscott, Gonzalez 3, Castillo 2, Salvaggio 2.
Base running: Evansville stolen bases - Ponder and Castillo. Evansville caught stealing - Ponder and Pierce.
Pitching: Elliott 50 pitches, 28 strikes. Bihm 48 pitches, 26 strikes. Sanders 31 pitches, 20 strikes. Forsyth 57 pitches, 37 strikes. Simpson 81 pitches, 48 strikes. Theibay 29 pitches, 18 strikes. Valdez 8 pitches, 5 strikes. Garcia 16 pitches, 11 strikes.
Game information: Date: Friday, June 19, 2026. Time of game: 3:01. Venue: Bosse Field.
Up Next
The Mud Monsters continue their three-game road series against the Otters tomorrow evening. Left-hander Tyler Campbell (2-0, 3.21) gets the start for Mississippi while Evansville counters with right-hander Ryan Wiltse (2-2, 4.54).
First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT.
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.