Samil De La Rosa then took the 1-1 offering from Sparks and drove it deep into left field. With Holman holding up to see whether the ball would be caught, the throw from Grizzlies left fielder Mitchell Sanford nailed him at the plate for the first out.
Newcomer Jackson Nicklaus then blooped a single into shallow left field to advance De La Rosa to third. An error on the throw to third allowed Nicklaus to take second base, and with two runners now in scoring position, the table was set for Kasten Furr.
After battling with two strikes and fouling off three consecutive offerings, the Mud Monsters left fielder lined a double down the line to make it 5-0.
Jackson Smith, a Central Hinds Academy alum from Raymond, took the ball from his fellow Mississippian Johnson as the seventh inning rolled around and retired the first five batters he faced. The sixth, Jose Alvarez, singled through the left side and Victor Castillo followed with a two-run home run over the right-field fence.
Smith quickly regrouped and struck out Mark Shallenberger swinging for his second strikeout.
Chris Barraza then came out of the bullpen for the ninth and struck out the side side on 14 pitches, including 11 strikes, to earn the save and give the Mud Monsters their second straight opening day victory.
The Mud Monsters will continue their season-opening three-game series against the Gateway Grizzlies Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Trustmark Park, and Saturday at 6:01 p.m. There will be fireworks following Friday home games throughout the season.
After finishing with Gateway, the Mud Monsters will take a 12-game, two-week road trip to Florence, Lake Erie, Windy City and Schaumburg while Trustmark Park hosts the MHSAA baseball state championship series. The Mud Monsters will be back for a six-game home series against the Tri-City Valleycats May 25-30.
