By: Braeden Jones
PEARL, MS – After dropping the last two games against the Joliet Slammers (12-18), the Mississippi Mud Monsters (12-19) got their revenge as they won at home with a 8-4 score on Friday.
The Slammers continued to score in the top of the 1st inning against Mississippi as three straight RBI singles brought home Ian Battipaglia, Jackson Valera and Jackson Beaman. That quickly brought the score to 3-0.
The Mud Monsters immediately responded in the bottom of the 1st when a single plus stolen base from Brayland Skinner set up an RBI triple for Kyle Booker. Booker was left stranded at third base, however, ending the 1st inning with a 3-1 score favoring Joliet.
Skinner got on base his next at-bat in the bottom of the 4th with a single, and once again scored off the hitting of Booker, this time from a double. Booker wasn’t stranded on base this time as a sacrifice fly ball from Jake Zitella brought Booker home. This tied the game at 3-3 after four innings.
A tie was not good enough for Mississippi as the bottom of the 5th inning saw six straight batters reaching first base for the Mud Monsters. Slater Schield and Kasten Furr hit a pair of singles before Skinner’s third single in a row brought Schield home. Booker was walked before a single from Travis Holt brought Furr around the bases. Also for the third time in a row, Skinner found himself stepping on home plate from an Andrew Semo single before a pickoff attempt pitch to Semo got away, allowing Booker to score. All that action gave the Mud Monsters the 7-3 lead after five innings, their first lead in a game since Tuesday in their first game against Joliet.
Vantrel Reed wanted to have a chance to score as he hit a single and stole second base, and he was rewarded for his efforts with a sacrifice fly ball from Travis Payne II that let him come home. That gave Mississippi the 8-3 advantage after the bottom of the 6th inning.
The Slammers had a little fight left in them as Ian Battipaglia led off the top of the 7th by getting walked, making it to third base off of a Patrick Ward single, and made it home thanks to a Blake Berry single. Battipaglia ended up being the last scorer for either team as the game ended with a 8-4 Mud Monster win.
Still looking to work their way up the Midwest West Division standings, the Slammers will try to win against the Mud Monsters on Saturday, once again in Pearl, Mississippi. Mississippi will have their first chance to win this three-game series against Joliet in game two on Saturday at home.
