Mud Monsters Hold Crushers to One Run, Ride 16 Hits to 10-1 Victory
FL Mississippi Mud Monsters

Mud Monsters Hold Crushers to One Run, Ride 16 Hits to 10-1 Victory

Published on May 16, 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)

AVON, Ohio. - A game full of firsts for the Mississippi Mud Monsters (4-4) culminated with the biggest first of all: Mississippi's first-ever road victory in Avon, a 10-1 win over the Lake Erie Crushers (3-5).

Hunter Belton got the start for the Mud Monsters, making his debut in the teal and black. The right-hander tossed four innings while allowing one run on four hits, walking three, and striking out three.

After playing from behind for the first time this season in the series opener, Mississippi struck first in the top of the opening inning after Kyle Booker lined a one-out single and Travis Holt followed with a hit of his own to push Booker to third.

Holt then broke for second and, on the throw down, Lake Erie catcher Alfredo Gonzalez sailed the ball into center field, allowing Booker to score and make it 1-0.

Booker and Holt teamed up with Kasten Furr for more damage in the third inning. Booker led off the frame with a walk before Holt crushed a ball to left field that one-hopped the wall for a ground-rule double.

With two men on, Crushers starter Corbin Foy delivered a fastball on the outer half of the plate that Furr flicked over the left-field wall for a three-run home run to extend the Mississippi lead to 4-0.

Belton ran into trouble in the fourth inning. After walking leadoff hitter Luis Acevedo, the 23-year-old picked up a fly out to right field for the inning's first out. Samuel Benjamin followed with a single that allowed Acevedo to move from first to third before Belton walked Gonzalez to load the bases.

Pitching coach Kurt Takahashi emerged from the Mississippi dugout to calm Belton down, but a bases-loaded walk to Jacob Tobias followed to bring home Lake Erie's lone run of the game.

Belton escaped the jam by striking out James Jett with the bases loaded before getting Jarrod Watkins to fly out to left field for the inning's final out.

Mississippi immediately answered with two runs of its own in the fifth inning after Holt lined his second double of the game down the left-field line. Jack Holman later grounded out to advance Holt to third before Furr picked up his fourth RBI of the day with a run-scoring single.

First baseman Peter Bocchino, making his second appearance for Mississippi, recorded his first hit as a Mud Monster before a single by Andrew Semo brought home Furr to make it 6-1.

Mississippi pitching then went from one debut to another as Dusty Baird became the first man out of the bullpen in the fifth inning. The newest Mud Monster allowed a walk and a hit but worked a scoreless frame to carry the five-run lead into the sixth.

After a quiet top of the sixth for Mississippi, Jackson Smith entered for his first inning of work and tossed a scoreless bottom half to send the game into the seventh inning with the Mud Monsters leading 6-1.

The offense returned to work in the seventh against Jean Calderon, who was making his second consecutive relief appearance. Furr opened the inning with a single before Jackson Nicklaus brought him home with an RBI double.

Bocchino followed with his second hit of the day and first RBI as a Mud Monster, driving in Nicklaus to make it 8-1.

Semo later singled to move Bocchino to second before back-to-back fielders' choices by Slater Schield and Brayland Skinner allowed Bocchino to move to third and eventually score, extending the lead to 9-1.

Smith returned for the bottom of the seventh and delivered another scoreless inning before fellow Mississippian Seth McCartney took over in the eighth and struck out two during a scoreless frame of his own.

Mississippi's final at-bat brought more of the same offensively. After Bocchino collected his third single of the day, Semo walked and Schield singled to load the bases. Skinner then hit into his second RBI fielder's choice of the game to plate Mississippi's 10th and final run.

Chris Barraza came out of the bullpen to close the door on Lake Erie, retiring the Crushers in order and finalizing Mississippi's first-ever road victory in Avon.

Five different Mud Monsters collected multiple hits as Holt finished 4-for-5 with three doubles, Furr went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, Bocchino finished 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Semo and Nicklaus each went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Mississippi finished one hit shy of the franchise single-game record of 17.

With Game Two rout in their pocket, the Mud Monsters now set their sights on a chance to win the series tomorrow afternoon in the club's first day game of the season. Mississippi turns to right-hander Brenton Thiels (0-1, 18.00) while Lake Erie counters with left-hander Nathan Shinn (0-1, 5.40). First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.

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 May 16, 2026


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