Eighth Inning Run Propels Mud Monsters over Y'alls
FL Mississippi Mud Monsters

Eighth Inning Run Propels Mud Monsters over Y'alls

Published on July 3, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Mississippi Mud Monsters News Release


Mississippi Mud Monsters on game night
Mississippi Mud Monsters on game night
(Mississippi Mud Monsters)

PEARL, Miss. - The Mississippi Mud Monsters (21-28) took their third straight series opener, beginning a three-game set against the Florence Y'alls (25-22) with a 4-3 comeback victory.

Brian Williams took the hill looking for his third consecutive victory and second during the Mud Monsters' twelve-game homestand.

The right-hander out of Bryan, Texas tossed a 1-2-3 first inning to allow Mississippi to strike in their first offensive chance.

The lumber rallied with two outs after Travis Holt walked and Samil De La Rosa singled to put Mud Monsters on the corners for Kasten Furr, who came into the matchup 6-10 against the Y'alls from the road series in May.

The success for Furr continued at home as he singled up the middle to score Holt and make it a 1-0 Mississippi advantage.

After Tevis Payne II drew a walk to load up the bases, Andrew Semo was hit by a pitch to bring in the second Mud Monsters run for a 2-0 lead.

Florence immediately answered in the top of the second with a single by Brendan Bobo being followed by Garrett Broussard reaching on a fielder's choice. The play eliminated Bobo, but with Broussard now on first, a walk to Tyler Shaneyfelt put two men on.

A wild pitch uncorked by Williams pushed both runners into scoring position, and after getting a flyout for the second out of the inning, Dillon Baker took the first offering he saw and pulled it into left field. The ball one-hopped the fence for a ground-rule double to score both runs and knot the score at 2-2.

The Mud Monsters offense got gifted a run in the most incredible way to go up for the second time in the bottom of the third.

Things began with a leadoff double by Holt before the first wild pitch by Florence starter Casey Bargo during De La Rosa's second at-bat moved Holt to third.

One pitch later, the second wild offering from Bargo went through the netting and ended up in the hands of a fan to allow Holt to score for the second Mud Monsters lead of the day with a 3-2 advantage.

The one-run lead maintained until the seventh inning when Baker smashed a one-out triple to left field for his second extra-base hit of the day.

After Williams struck out Kyle Harbison, Milo Rushford followed with a triple of his own to score Baker as Florence tied the ball game for the second time.

With the score now 3-3, Mississippi skipper Jay Pecci opted to bring in Brayden Sanders from the bullpen.

Williams ended up going 6.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking one man.

Sanders only needed three pitches to strike out Zade Richardson, holding Rushford at third and keeping the game tied. The rookie remained on the bump for the top of the eighth and picked up his second strikeout in a full scoreless inning of work.

In the home half of the eighth frame, De La Rosa began things with his fourteenth double of the year.

Vantrel Reed replaced Mississippi's designated hitter at second as Pecci opted for speed on the bases.

The replacement paid off as Reed took third on a wild pitch from Florence reliever Travis Phelps to put the go-ahead runner ninety feet away and set the stage for Furr's fourth trip to the plate.

Mississippi's second baseman drove a ball to center field that was deep enough to bring in Reed, putting the Mud Monsters up and searching for the final three outs.

Chris Barraza was the man chosen for the job out of the Mississippi bullpen. Two groundouts allowed the Mud Monsters closer to pick up the first two outs before he iced Baker with a strike three called to end the opener with a 4-3 victory.

The win marked the first one-run victory for Mississippi this season and the third straight series-opening win during the twelve-game homestand.

The Mud Monsters continue their homestand Saturday evening, wrapping up the series with the Florence Y'alls with a special Fourth of July Doubleheader. Both games will be seven-inning matchups. There will be a postgame Independence Day Fireworks Extravaganza presented by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi, Mississippi Farm Bureau and the City of Pearl. Mississippi will send southpaw Art Joven (4-2, 5.02) to the hill in game one and right-hander Sergio Sanchez (0-0, 0.00) in game two. Florence counters with left-handed starters in both games as Isaac Milburn (2-3, 6.03) takes game one and Jonaiker Villalobos (1-2, 6.34) starts the nightcap. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT, and the second game will begin about 30 minutes after the final out in game one is recorded.

Check out the Mississippi Mud Monsters Statistics

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Mississippi Mud Monsters on game night
Mississippi Mud Monsters on game night
   



Frontier League Stories from July 3, 2026


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