Skinner Collects Four Hits; Mud Monsters Fall to Otters 7-5
FL Mississippi Mud Monsters

Skinner Collects Four Hits; Mud Monsters Fall to Otters 7-5

Published on July 25, 2026 under Frontier League (FL)
Mississippi Mud Monsters News Release


Mississippi Mud Monsters bolt to first
Mississippi Mud Monsters bolt to first
(Mississippi Mud Monsters)

PEARL, Miss. - Despite a four-hit day by Brayland Skinner and a solo home run by Kyle Booker, the Mississippi Mud Monsters (27-38) fell to the Evansville Otters (38-25) by a 7-5 final Saturday night.

After dropping the previous two matchups in the series, the Mud Monsters turned to left-hander John Walsh for the start.

Making his second home start of the season, the southpaw out of Colorado surrendered a leadoff hit to Jon Ponder and a walk to Amani Jones to put two men on. Ponder advanced to third after stealing second base.

The next batter, Logan Brown, grounded out to score Ponder, allowing Evansville to strike first for the fifth time in five games.

Mississippi responded immediately after Brayland Skinner lined a double into right field to begin the bottom of the first, and Kyle Booker followed with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1.

After Booker swiped second for his third stolen base of the series and 18th of the season, AJ Fritz followed with an RBI single to score Booker and give Mississippi a 2-1 lead.

After both offenses went scoreless in the second inning, Evansville tied the game in the third on a two-out solo home run by Dennis Pierce.

Mississippi answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the third when Skinner led off with his second hit of the day. After Fritz added a base hit of his own, Skinner advanced to third.

Victor Diaz capitalized on the runners-at-the-corners opportunity with an RBI single to put the Mud Monsters back in front, 3-2.

Evansville once again found an answer in the top of the fourth. After Sam Linscott was hit by a pitch, he stole second before TJ Salvaggio grounded out to shortstop, moving Linscott to third. Ponder followed with a game-tying RBI single to make it 3-3.

After Walsh surrendered a leadoff single to Marcos Gonzalez in the fifth inning, manager Jay Pecci turned to Dallas Woolfolk out of the bullpen.

Inheriting the baserunner from Walsh, Woolfolk allowed an RBI single to the first batter he faced, Dennis Pierce, giving Evansville a 4-3 lead.

With his final inherited runner coming around to score, Walsh finished his outing after four innings, allowing four runs on six hits while walking three and striking out two.

A walk to Blake Robertson followed, pushing Pierce into scoring position before Woolfolk induced a ground-ball double play to record the first two outs of the inning while moving Pierce to third.

Woolfolk then uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Pierce to score and extend Evansville's lead to 5-3.

With the bases empty, Linscott and Salvaggio collected consecutive singles before advancing into scoring position on Woolfolk's second wild pitch of the inning.

Ponder drove in his second and third runs of the game with a two-run single to make it 7-3 Evansville and cap a four-run fifth inning.

In the home half of the inning, the Mud Monsters got a run back on Booker's solo home run, his seventh of the season, trimming the deficit to 7-4.

Jackson Smith took over for Woolfolk in the sixth and tossed a scoreless inning to hold Evansville at seven runs.

Despite a two-out double by Joshua Shelly, the Mud Monsters were unable to push another run across in the bottom of the sixth.

Smith remained on the mound in the seventh and turned in a second consecutive scoreless inning, giving Mississippi another opportunity to chip away.

After Evansville went to its bullpen for the first time and brought in reliever Dylan Zentko, Skinner led off the seventh with his second double of the day before Diaz delivered his second RBI single of the game to cut the deficit to 7-5.

With Mississippi inching closer, Smith continued into the eighth and ninth, adding two more scoreless innings to finish with four scoreless frames while allowing three hits and striking out four.

Unfortunately for the Mud Monsters, the offense was held scoreless over the final two innings.

Mississippi's best chance came in the bottom of the ninth after Skinner picked up his fourth hit and third double of the day to begin the inning.

Despite the late opportunity, Nate Wohlgemuth recorded the save as Evansville secured a 7-5 victory, its third consecutive win in the series.

The Mud Monsters wrap up their six-game series against the Otters on Sunday evening. The game marks another 601 Sunday, highlighted by Chef Markelius serving a limited-edition $15 meal in the Farm Bureau Grill & Outdoor Patio featuring grilled catfish, mac and cheese, salad, green beans and Mississippi Mud Pie, available while supplies last. Kids Run the Bases will take place following the game. Evansville and Mississippi will send their Game 1 starters back to the mound as Brian Williams (2-6, 6.03) gets the ball for the Mud Monsters, while Garret Simpson (6-1, 4.42) starts for the Otters.

Check out the Mississippi Mud Monsters Statistics

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Mississippi Mud Monsters bolt to first
Mississippi Mud Monsters bolt to first
   



Frontier League Stories from July 25, 2026


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