PEARL, Miss. (June 26, 2025) – The Down East Bird Dawgs exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning Wednesday night, powering past the Mississippi Mud Monsters for a 10–7 win at Trustmark Park.

Nick Hassan opened the scoring for Mississippi with an RBI groundout in the second inning to give the Mud Monsters a 1–0 lead.

The Bird Dawgs responded with a seven-run fourth, sparked by back-to-back RBI singles from Ali LaPread and Jaylen Smith. Kam Guidry added a sacrifice fly, Cole Hill delivered a two-run single, and Emmanuel Tapia was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to cap the inning and make it 7–1.

Ryan Cash cut into the deficit with a two-run single in the fourth, and the Mud Monsters continued their push in the sixth. Hassan brought home a run with a groundout, Kasten Furr followed with an RBI double, and Travis Holt singled to make it a one-run game at 7–6.

The Bird Dawgs responded in the seventh as Trotter Harlan and Ali LaPread each delivered RBI singles to stretch the lead to 9–6.

Nilo Rijo hit a solo home run for Mississippi in the bottom half of the inning to make it 9–7.

Tapia added insurance with his 11th home run of the season in the ninth inning, and the Bird Dawgs held on for a 10-7 victory.

Danny Beal (1–2) earned his first professional win for the Bird Dawgs, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out a season-high eight over five innings. Nate Roof pitched the ninth, picking up his third save of the season.

Brandon Mitchell (2-3) took the loss, giving up seven runs, three of them earned, and striking out three over 3 2/3 innings.

With the win, the Bird Dawgs improve to 16–24 and take a 2–1 lead in the six-game series. They'll look to clinch at least a series split when the two teams meet for game four on Friday, June 27, at 6:30 p.m. CST at Trustmark Park.