ValleyCats Rally from Six Down to Stun Mississippi
FL Mississippi Mud Monsters

ValleyCats Rally from Six Down to Stun Mississippi

Published on May 29, 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. - In the longest nine-inning game timewise in Mississippi Mud Monsters (8-11) history, it was the Tri-City ValleyCats (5-12) storming from behind to snag a 10-7 victory.

Mississippi got on the board first in the bottom of the second after Kasten Furr walked to lead off the frame and Samil De La Rosa hit a ground ball that was misplayed by Kai Moody at first base to put runners on the corners.

Vantrel Reed grounded into a fielder's choice that brought home the game's first run while recording outs at second and first.

With two away and the bases cleared, Tevis Payne II walked and Slater Schield singled to left field with Payne II running on contact, putting runners at first and third once again. Brayland Skinner followed with a single through the right side to make it 2-0.

Working with the lead, Jackson Smith took the hill for his second start of the season. After scoreless first and second innings, the ValleyCats answered in the top of the third.

With one out, Dylan Broderick tripled. Smith picked up the second out of the frame by striking out Parker Coddou looking, but a wild pitch to the next batter, Mike Campagna, allowed Broderick to score and cut the lead to 2-1.

Smith allowed the lone run on just two hits across four innings while walking three and striking out three.

In the home half of the third, Jack Holman singled with one out, took second on the throw and later scored on an RBI single by Furr to make it 3-1.

The Mud Monsters added four more runs in the fourth after Payne II was hit by a pitch from ValleyCats starter Luke Delongchamp. Schield's second single of the day put runners at first and third for the second time in the game.

With the top of the order due up, Mason Martinez was brought in for relief of Delongchamp and, after falling behind in the count, opted to intentionally walk Skinner to load the bases for Kyle Booker.

That decision proved costly as Booker ripped a two-run double to make it 5-1. Back-to-back sacrifice flies by Travis Holt and Jack Holman followed, and the Mud Monsters ended the inning with a 7-1 lead.

Braden Forsyth came on for the top of the fifth and immediately recorded the first two outs on a fly out and strikeout but walked the next two batters to put men aboard for Kai Moody. Moody cleared the bases with a two-run double to cut into Mississippi's lead and make it 7-3.

Forsyth got ahead of Jake Reinisch with two strikes before surrendering an RBI single that brought home Moody and made it 7-4.

Things went from Braden to Brayden as newest Mud Monster Brayden Collett came out of the bullpen. Collett, a right-handed reliever, signed with Mississippi earlier in the day.

Collett recorded the final out of the fifth and returned for the sixth, where he ran into trouble. After hitting the first batter of the inning, Collett walked the next and surrendered an RBI single to Coddou to make it a two-run game at 7-5.

Manager Jay Pecci turned to Connor Langrell, who struck out a batter for the second out before inducing an inning-ending fly out to preserve the lead.

Langrell followed with a scoreless seventh inning, picking up another strikeout before handing the ball to Chris Barraza in the eighth.

Barraza entered having not allowed a run in either of his first two appearances of the series. Tri-City found success against the right-hander this time around.

A one-out walk to Coddou put a runner aboard for David Glancy, who tripled to make it 7-6 and a sacrifice fly by Ian Walters brought home Glancy to tie the game at 7-7.

The Mud Monsters were retired in order by Logan Jones in the bottom of the eighth as Barraza returned to the mound for the ninth. A single opened the inning and, after Barraza struck out Aaron Whitley, back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Gage Bihm entered in relief.

Facing his first batter, Bihm walked in the go-ahead run to give Tri-City an 8-7 lead. Ian Walters followed with a two-run double to stretch the ValleyCats advantage to 10-7. All three runs in the inning were charged to Barraza.

In the bottom of the ninth, Nate Nabholz retired the Mud Monsters in order to complete the ValleyCats comeback.

The game lasted 3 hours and 38 minutes, eclipsing the previous longest nine-inning game in Mississippi franchise history by four minutes. The previous mark was set on July 12, 2025, against Windy City.

The Mud Monsters wrap up their six-game series against Tri-City on Saturday with a doubleheader. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Hawaiian shirt presented by the U.S. Coast Guard, and Kids Run the Bases will take place following the conclusion of the evening.

Game One of the doubleheader is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. CT, with game two beginning approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener. Mississippi will start right-hander Brian Williams (0-2, 6.53) in game one and left-hander Art Joven (2-0, 4.12) in game two. Tri-City counters with left-hander Brayhans Barreto (0-1, 9.75) in game one and Wes Albert (0-0, 0.00) in Game Two.

Check out the Mississippi Mud Monsters Statistics

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



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