Fort Myers improves June record to 14-4

FORT MYERS – Sawyer Gipson-Long went five scoreless and Aaron Sabato drove in two to lead the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels to a 5-1 week against the Lakeland Flying Tigers at Hammond Stadium Sunday.

Sabato’s two-run double in the third inning proved to be the difference, as the Mighty Mussels (25-17) capped their big week with a 3-1 victory on Father’s Day. With two on and two out, Sabato laced a 3-2 pitch to the wall in left center at 101 miles per hour.

That followed a leadoff home run by Jeferson Morales, his team-leading fifth dinger of the season.

Gipson-Long and the Fort Myers bullpen did the rest, holding Lakeland (15-26) to two runs or less for the fourth time in six games. Gipson-Long scattered four hits and three walks, fanning six without allowing a run.

The Mussels’ used four relievers for one inning each to close out the series. Erik Manoah Jr. earned his second save of the series, stranding the tying run at home in the ninth.

Denny Bentley, Steven Cruz and John Wilson each worked a clean inning before Manoah Jr. Cruz struck out two, and Wilson made his Hammond Stadium debut.

The Mighty Mussels’ have started the month of June with a 14-4 record, pitching to a stingy 1.97 ERA while striking out 215 batters in 155.1 innings (12.5 K/9). Perhaps most impressively, they’ve walked the fewest batters (68) in the league this month.

Fort Myers will travel to Palm Beach on Tuesday to begin a six-game series with the Cardinals. All six games can be heard on the Cardinals Baseball Network.

Box Score: https://atmilb.com/3qc1sB7

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Holland grand slam punctuates 10-4 win over Lakeland Saturday

FORT MYERS – Will Holland delivered a sixth inning grand slam Saturday, pushing the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels past the Lakeland Flying Tigers 10-4 at Hammond Stadium.

The Fort Myers (24-17) win clinches their third straight series victory. The Mussels have now 13 of their first 17 games in June, registering a league-best 2.03 ERA for the month.

Holland’s grand slam carried 420 feet, well over the left field berm at Hammond Stadium. His five RBI set a new career high.

The Mussels entered the bottom of the third inning trailing 2-0 before finally breaking through against Tigers (15-25) starter Ted Stuka (1-4). After a Misael Urbina single and Eduard Julien hit by pitch, Yunior Severino ripped a two-run double down the right field line to tie the game 2-2. That preceded an RBI double to the left field corner by Holland to give Fort Myers a 3-2 lead. The next batter was Willie Joe Garry Jr., who singled to center to cap the rally at 4-2 Mussels.

Fort Myers starter Bobby Milacki surrendered three runs over four innings, but kept Fort Myers in front. Casey Legumina (2-1) went two innings in relief to earn the win.

The Mighty Mussels tacked on two runs in the fourth on RBIs from Urbina and Charles Mack before blowing it open in the sixth.

Box Score: https://atmilb.com/3cUQria

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First inning surge earns Mussels 3-2 win Friday

FORT MYERS – Brent Headrick went six quality innings and the Mighty Mussels got just enough offense in the first inning to fend off the Lakeland Flying Tigers 3-2 Friday night at Hammond Stadium.

Headrick (3-2) went a career-high six innings, allowing only one run on three hits. He fanned six and walked three.

Fort Myers (23-17) jumped on Lakeland (17-23) starter Gio Arriera (1-4) early. After a single from Misael Urbina on the first pitch of the frame, Edouard Julien drew a walk to put two men on. The next batter was Yunior Severino, who clubbed a two-run double the gap in left. Aaron Sabato followed with a sharp single to center to plate Severino and extend the lead to 3-0.

From there, Headrick and Arriera matched zeroes until the end of the sixth inning. Arriera retired 17 of the final 19 batters he faced.

The Tigers finally got some offense going in the eighth against Mussels’ reliever Brad Hanner. After Hanner worked a flawless seventh, he allowed two singles to put men at the corners with nobody out. After a strikeout, Gage Workman singled to right to cut the deficit to 3-2. A fielding error allowed the runners to advance to second and third.

With Nick Quintana batting, Hanner threw a pitch to the backstop. Fort Myers catcher Jeferson Morales pounced on the carom, flipping a perfect throw to Hanner. Hanner quickly tagged the runner to keep the game at 3-2. He then induced a fly ball from Quintana to escape the inning with the lead.

Juan Pichardo earned his third save of the season. After loading the bases with two outs, he got a groundout to Sabato to end the game.

— John Vittas

Box Score: https://atmilb.com/35CX8BA