Mighty Mussels drop second straight headed into All-Star Break
Aguiar, Cardenas homer in 5-4 loss to Clearwater Sunday
FORT MYERS – Carlos Aguiar and Noah Cardenas both continued hot streaks by delivering home runs Sunday, but the Clearwater Threshers came back to beat the Mighty Mussels 5-4 in 10 innings at Hammond Stadium.
Aguiar’s dinger was his fifth in the last seven games and he’s batting .481 in that span.
Cardenas hit .346 in the series, clubbing three home runs. He has hit five of his six home runs this season against Clearwater.
The homers got Fort Myers out to a 3-1 lead before the Threshers came storming back in the sixth. Marcus Lee Sang and Kendall Simmons both singled to put men at the corners. The next batter was Arturo De Freitas, who lined a base hit to left center. Lee Sang scored while the runners moved up to second and third on an error. With two outs, Simmons scored on a groundout to make it 3-3. Wilfredo Flores followed with an infield single to give Clearwater the lead.
The Mussels came back with three consecutive singles in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 4-4.
After Clearwater took the lead in the top of the 10th, the Mussels loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning before Threshers pitcher Alex Garbrick notched a critical strikeout to seal the win.
The Mussels will enjoy the four-day All-Star Break before returning to action in Dunedin on Friday. All four games of the series will be broadcast on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
Mussels’ winning streak halted, 5-1, Saturday
FORT MYERS – The Mighty Mussels’ five-game winning streak came to an end Saturday with a 5-1 defeat to the Clearwater Threshers at Hammond Stadium.
Noah Cardenas went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Jackson Hicks spun two outstanding innings out of the bullpen, but the Mussels’ bats (48-33, 7-10) could only manage six hits against Clearwater (41-44, 6-14) pitching.
The Threshers jumped in front early on a pair of doubles from Kendall Simmons and Arturo De Fritas in the fourth.
After Fort Myers tied the game on Cardenas’ single, Wilfredo Flores laid down a bunt single with one out in the top of the fifth. Two batters later, Leandro Pineda sliced an RBI double into the left field corner to put Clearwater on top for good.
The Threshers tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and seventh as their bullpen spun five consecutive scoreless innings.
Mussels’ starter Pierson Ohl (4-5) lasted 4.2 innings, striking out four while allowing two runs on six hits in a solid effort.
Mussels’ bats stay hot in doubleheader sweep Friday
FORT MYERS – The Mighty Mussels bats stayed hot as they swept the doubleheader by scores of 6-1 and 7-4 against the Clearwater Threshers Friday at Hammond Stadium.
The Mussels (48-32, 7-9) won five consecutive games on the backs of their bats. During the winning streak, Fort Myers has averaged 7.2 runs per game while tallying nine home runs and hitting for .331 average.
In the second inning of Game 1, the Mussels led off the inning with a Kala’i Rosario hit-by-a-pitch and Noah Cardenas double to left. Two batters later, Carlos Aguiar hit a towering home run to right field to put the Mussels up 3-0.
After Clearwater (40-44, 5-14) scored in the top of the forth to cut it 3-1, Rubel Cepedes doubled to right field to score Aguiar and extend the lead to 4-1. Then with one out, Misael Urbina singled to right and stole second base. The errant throw allowed Cespedes to score and make it 5-1.
After a 40-minute delay and with one out in the bottom of the fifth, Cardenas pulled a homer down the left field line to cap the scoring of Game 1 at 6-1.
Marco Raya went four innings, giving up three hits while striking out four. Malik Barrington (3-2) tossed the three innings following the delay, giving up one hit while striking out three Threshers.
Down a run in the first inning of Game 2, Noah Miller laced a one out single to right. Then Keoni Cavaco doubled to left on a diving attempt by Clearwater left fielder Marcus Lee Sang which tied the game 1-1. After Cardenas reached base, Mikey Perez doubled to the left-center gap to score Cavaco and give the Mussels a 2-1 lead. Cardenas then scored on a wild pitch and capped the inning at 3-1.
In the bottom of the third, Perez led off the inning with a double and then stole third base. With one out, Perez scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-1. Then with two outs, Luis Baez singled and Frank Nigro walked. Urbina then came up and hit a moonshot onto the left field berm to add some insurance to the lead at 7-1.
In the top of the sixth, Clearwater was able to score three runs with two outs on three walks and three singles and cut the lead to 7-4. Johnathan Lavallee escaped the bases loaded jam to earn his first Low-A save.
Mike Paredes (5-2) worked five innings in Game 2, giving up one run on three hits and three walks.