
Mud Monsters Mash Three Homers to Prevent Sweep at Evansville
Published on June 21, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Mississippi Mud Monsters News Release
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - After dropping five straight games for the first time in franchise history, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (15-24) got their offense back on track Sunday evening as three home runs powered them past the Evansville Otters (25-13) and prevented a sweep with an 8-6 victory.
Fresh off a record tying performance earlier this week against the Wild Things, Brian Williams took the ball looking to carry that momentum into Sunday's finale.
The right-hander had the backing of the bats early after Brayland Skinner singled and moved to second on a throwing error by Marcos Gonzalez at third base.
Kyle Booker followed with a sacrifice bunt down the third baseline to move Skinner to third.
One batter later with two outs, AJ Fritz lifted a fly ball down the right field line that Sam Linscott dropped to allow the run to score to open the scoring 1-0 in favor of Mississippi.
Evansville answered instantly in the bottom of the first after Jon Ponder drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a single by Amani Jones and with one out came in on a successful squeeze play on a bunt by Logan Brown to tie the game 1-1.
Mississippi retook the lead in the top of the second.
Samil De La Rosa singled at the start, Tevis Payne II walked, and Andrew Semo picked up an RBI single to make it 2-1 Mud Monsters.
The Otters continued the tug of war on the scoreboard after the first two men in the bottom of the second reached on singles and LG Castillo followed with a three-run home run to make it 4-2 Evansville.
Mississippi catapulted to their third lead of the day in the top of the third inning and did not look back.
A walk to Booker and two singles back-to-back by Travis Holt and AJ Fritz loaded the bases for Kasten Furr who grounded out to cut it to a one-run game at 4-3 Evansville.
With two men on and one out, De La Rosa blasted a two-run shot to left field to give Mississippi the lead 5-4.
Mississippi continued to run into the longball with a two-homer inning in the top of the fourth.
With two outs and the bases empty, Booker launched his fourth homer of the season opposite field over the left field fence to make it 6-4 Mud Monsters.
Two batters later, the two-out homer party continued.
Following a single by Travis Holt, Fritz went into liftoff mode, crushing an offering from Evansville reliever Dylan Zentko over the left field wall to break things open with an 8-4 score.
Things held as is until the fifth inning when Williams allowed a one-out solo home run to T.J. Salvaggio that cut into the lead 8-5.
The right-hander out of Texas earned his first victory of the year after allowing five runs on seven hits across five innings while walking one and striking out one.
Evansville picked up one more run off Chris Barraza after the right-hander emerged to replace Williams.
In the seventh, Barraza's second inning of work, a one-out walk to Ponder put a runner on.
Ponder then stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and crossed home plate on a single by Amani Jones.
Tristan House followed with scoreless eighth and ninth innings to secure the save and help bring momentum into the Mud Monsters' longest homestand of the year.
After an off day Monday, the Mud Monsters return to Trustmark Park to open a twelve-game homestand with a six-game series against the Lake Erie Crushers beginning Tuesday, June 23. The game will feature in-game Bingo Madness with the chance to play along all game long for prizes. At the time of writing, neither team has announced their probable starting pitchers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and gates open at 5:30 p.m. CT.
Frontier League Stories from June 21, 2026
- Crushers Walk off in Sudden Death, Take Series against Wild Things - Lake Erie Crushers
- Otters Fall in Series Finale, Still Take Series - Evansville Otters
- Mud Monsters Mash Three Homers to Prevent Sweep at Evansville - Mississippi Mud Monsters
- Grizzlies Swept in New Jersey - Gateway Grizzlies
- Titans Drop Nail-Biting Finale in Extras - Ottawa Titans
- ValleyCats Score 10+ for Fifth-Straight, Top Brockton, 15-8 - Tri-City ValleyCats
- Wild Things Fight Back Twice But Fall in Sudden Death to Drop First Road Series - Washington Wild Things
- Bird Dawgs Fall 8-7 in Series Finale, Head Home to Host Brockton - Down East Bird Dawgs
- Florence Finale against Joliet Postponed - Florence Y'alls
- ValleyCats Outfielder Jake Reinisch Joining Athletics - Tri-City ValleyCats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
Other Recent Mississippi Mud Monsters Stories
- De La Rosa's Big Day Leads Mud Monsters to Sudden Death Road Walk-Off
- Jay Pecci Joins 2026 Frontier League All-Star Game Staff
- Brayland Skinner, Chris Barraza Headed to Florence as 2026 Frontier League All-Stars
- Mud Monsters Split Independence Day Doubleheader to Win Series vs. Y'alls
- Mud Monsters Lineup Rejuvenated with Signing of Shelly, Returns of Diaz, Holman


