Mussels finish regular season with dominant 9-1 win
Fort Myers team to open playoff series Tuesday in Dunedin
FORT MYERS – The Mighty Mussels wrapped up the regular season with a dominant 9-1 win over the St. Lucie Mets Sunday at Hammond Stadium, finishing the campaign with a 69-59 record.
Fort Myers (69-59, 28-36) led the FSL West from wire-to-wire in the overall standings, clinching the First Half title with a 41-23 mark. They’ll begin their playoff run on Tuesday in Dunedin.
Nate Baez crushed two home runs in Sunday’s win, getting the Mussels over the century mark with 101 dingers on the season. That total ranks third in the Florida State League. The Mussels also supplanted St. Lucie for the best OPS in the league on Sunday, finishing 2022 with both the best OPS (.720) and ERA (3.51) in the league.
In a scoreless game in the bottom of the first, Mussels’ leadoff hitter Misael Urbina walked. That was followed by a single from Tanner Schobel and a balk to put them on second and third. Next batter was Ben Ross, who doubled to right to plate two and made it 2-0. Kala’i Rosario then walked before Baez smacked his first homer of the day to make it 5-0.
In the bottom of the third, Urbina again led off the inning with a walk. Two batters later, Ross singled home another run to make it 6-0. Schobel came home to score off the bat of a Rosario single just two pitches later and extend the lead 7-0.
With two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the sixth, Baez came up and launched a first pitch home run on to the left field berm to cap the Mussels scoring at 9-0.
The Mussels’ pitching was outstanding Sunday, with five pitchers combining on a five-hitter. Niklas Rimmel started and struck out four over three scoreless innings.
The Mighty Mussels kick off their postseason run on Tuesday against the Dunedin Blue Jays with coverage beginning at 6:10 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.
Mother Nature cooperates as Mussels drop soubleheader to Mets
FORT MYERS – The Mighty Mussels dropped both games of their doubleheader against the St. Lucie Mets by scores of 5-2 and 3-1 Saturday at Hammond Stadium.
The 2022 season has featured 44 games affected by weather, including a pair of total wash outs this week against St. Lucie (73-55, 33-30). However, the teams played two games on time and uninterrupted Saturday.
With playoffs scheduled for next week, the Mussels (68-59, 27-36) auditioned a plethora of arms for the FSL West Championship Series. Jordan Carr (6-2) started Game 1 and pitched three innings, surrendering five runs on six hits while striking out just one Mets batter. Mike Paredes then entered the game and tossed two scoreless innings in a tune up while fanning two. Twins’ eighth-round pick Zebby Matthews threw two hitless innings in his Low-A debut and struck out four.
In Game 2, Thomas Cleto struck out three over four innings, working around two hits and one run. AJ Labas pitched well in two scoreless innings, surrendering a single hit and fanning three. Juan Mendez (3-4) allowed two runs in his single inning of work and was charged with the loss.
In Game 1, Ben Ross, Rubel Cespedes, and Keoni Cavaco all singled in the 5-2 loss. Game 2 saw Tanner Schobel collect two base knocks and birthday boy Noah Cardebas notched one of his own in the 3-1 loss.
Raya, Jones combine For Mussels’ second straight shutout
FORT MYERS – Mighty Mussels pitching dominated the St. Lucie Mets in a seven-inning 4-0 win Friday at Hammond Stadium.
Mussels (68-57, 27-34) starter Marco Raya spun four shutout innings, striking out seven while allowing just one hit. Kyle Jones (1-0) finished off the affair by scattering just two hits while striking out five Mets (71-55, 31-30) in his Low-A debut.
Fort Myers was powered by the long ball Friday. In a scoreless game in the bottom of the second, Ben Ross lined a ball over the fence in left field to give the Mussels a 1-0 lead. He finished the day 2-for-3.
In the bottom of the third, Tanner Schobel led off the inning with a double. The next batter was Noah Cardenas, who walked. After advancing to second and third on a wild pitch with one out, Kala’i Rosario grounded out to short to score Schobel and make it 2-0.
After a rain delay of nearly two hours, Noah Cardenas singled home Noah Miller with two outs in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead to 3-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Keoni Cavaco blasted a solo shot onto the left field berm to provide some insurance and cap the scoring at 4-0.
Over his last five games, Cavaco is 7-for-18 with three homers, three doubles and 8 RBI.