BOX SCORE
PEARL, MS – The Mississippi Mud Monsters broke a tie with three runs in the seventh to beat the ThunderBolts 7-4 at Trustmark Park Saturday night.
For the fifth straight game, the ThunderBolts (19-37) scored a first-inning run. It came just four pitches in as Cam Phelts singled and Daryl Ruiz doubled him home.
Mississippi (29-27) scored the next four. They got their first run in the second when the inning started with back-to-back walks. Brayland Skinner dropped down a bunt and Andriel Lantigua scored all the way from second base to tie the score.
They added three runs in the fifth inning. The bases were loaded on two walks and a single and the go-ahead run scored on a wild pitch. Karell Paz brought home two more runs with a single to make the score 4-1.
The game swung on a wild seventh inning. First, the ThunderBolts tied the score with three runs in the top of the frame. David Maberry singled, Josh Gibson doubled and Cam Phelts walked to load the bases. Ruiz came through with his 11th hit in the last three games, a single to score Maberry. Michael Sandle brought home a run when he was hit by a pitch and James Dunlap hit a sacrifice fly to even the score at four.
In the bottom of the inning, Mississippi answered with three runs of their own. They picked up four consecutive singles with one error helping them take the decisive lead.
Michael Fowler (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn his second win of the series. Bryce Hellgeth (0-3) allowed one run out of the Bolts’ bullpen to take the loss. Sergio Sanchez earned his 11th save with a scoreless ninth.
The finale of the six-game series and the season’s first half is scheduled for Sunday night at Trustmark Park. In a rematch of the series opener, Aaron Evers (2-4, 4.02) starts for the ThunderBolts against Mississippi’s Brandon Mitchell (3-3, 4.06). First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 and the broadcast information can be found at wcthunderbolts.com.
