By: Braeden Jones
PEARL, MS – After both teams traded home runs early, scoring became limited to just a few runs as the Mississippi Mud Monsters (11-17) took the 4-2 victory over the Joliet Slammers (10-17) on Tuesday.
Joliet slammed it deep to start the game as Patrick Ward hit a solo home run just a week after being signed to the Slammers. That gave the 1-0 advantage to Joliet after the top of the 1st inning.
It took until the bottom of the 2nd for the Mud Monsters to respond with a solo homer of their own, courtesy of Andrew Semo. That was all the hitting Mississippi could create that half-inning, keeping the score tied at 1-1 after two innings.
After a double by Mississippi hitter Slater Schield in the bottom of the 5th inning, he eventually came around to score when Brayland Skinner hit a triple. Two straight walks loaded the bases, but the Slammers were able to leave all three runners stranded and escape the 5th, only giving up one scorer. That still was enough to put the Mud Monsters in front with a 2-1 score.
Mississippi doubled their score during their next appearance in the bottom of the 6th. After two singles by AJ Fritz and Andrew Semo, Fritz eventually came around to score due to a wild pitch, and Semo would later score due to a throwing error. A few mistakes from the Slammers on defense gave the Mud Monsters the 4-1 lead after six innings.
In one final push, Joliet hit three singles in the top of the 8th inning and was able to score Billy Sullivan off the last single. With runners at first and second base, a fly out ended what turned out to be the last inning with a hit for the Slammers, leaving Mississippi on top, 4-2.
After winning the first game against the Slammers, the Mud Monsters will look to win the second of six games in a row that these two teams play against each other. After taking their second loss in seven games, Joliet will try to bounce back on Wednesday and continue to fight their way back into their division.
