BOX SCORE
PEARL, MS – The Mississippi Mud Monsters scored three runs in the third inning to knock off the ThunderBolts for the third straight game, 4-2 at Trustmark Park Thursday night.
For the fifth time in their last six games, the ThunderBolts (18-36) took a lead in the top of the first inning. Josh Gibson walked and Michael Sandle clobbered his tenth home run of the year to make it 2-0, but for the second game in a row, they didn’t score after the first inning.
Mississippi (28-26) cut their deficit in half in the second inning. Nilo Rijo reached on an error, moved to third on a Roberto Gonzalez single and scored when Nick Hassan singled him in.
They took over the game with five straight hits in the third. Rijo had the game-tying RBI and Gonzalez followed with an RBI single that put them ahead for good. Hassan’s run-scoring triple made it 4-2.
After the first inning, the Bolts didn’t mount many threats. Their best scoring chance came in the sixth when a Daryl Ruiz single and Dakota Kotowski walk put two on with no outs. But Mississippi starter Luis Devers induced a double play to slow down that rally as the Bolts came up empty.
The Mud Monsters’ bullpen was dominant over the final three innings. The combination of Chris Barraza and Sergio Sanchez struck out eight and didn’t allow a run.
Devers (6-3) pitched six innings for the win and Buddie Pindel (4-4) allowed three earned runs in four innings to take the loss. Sanchez picked up his tenth save.
Game four of the six-game series is scheduled for Thursday night at Trustmark Park. Dante Maietta (1-1, 7.31) starts for the ThunderBolts against Mississippi’s Tyree Thompson (4-1, 2.55). First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 and the broadcast information can be found at wcthunderbolts.com.
