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Olivar and Perez launch homers in 7-2 Mussels’ victory

By Staff | May 3, 2023

The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels continued their hot hitting Tuesday, notching five extra-base hits behind five strong innings of work from starter Cory Lewis (3-1) in a 7-2-win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Lewis (3-1) allowed one earned run on four hits while fanning five hitters, dropping his ERA to 3.00 through his first five professional starts.

Lewis’ one bad inning came in the first, when he walked Adrian Pinto on four pitches to begin the ballgame. The next batter was Manuel Beltre, who scorched a double to the warning track in left field that brought Pinto around to score to give Dunedin (10-12) a 1-0 lead. Lewis then walked another batter before escaping further trouble.

In a 1-0 game in the bottom of the third, Mussels (13-9) left fielder Dalton Shuffield led off with a four-pitch walk and quickly advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Blue Jays starter Rafael Ohashi (1-1) retired the next two hitters, Jorel Ortega lined an RBI single to right-center to tie the game at one.

Tied at one in the top of the fourth, Robert Robertis reached first after striking out on a knuckleball that Mussels’ catcher Andrew Cossetti couldn’t handle. After advancing to second on a wild pitch, Robertis scored on an RBI single to center by Jaden Rudd to give Dunedin a 2-1 advantage.

In the bottom half of the frame, Ricardo Olivar led off and blasted a solo home run to right-center to tie the game at two apiece. The opposite-field shot marked his third of the season and second in his last three games.

Still tied with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Mikey Perez sent a towering flyball onto the berm for his second home run in as many games to give the Mussels (13-9) their first lead of the day at 3-2.

Still leading by one in the bottom of the seventh, Shuffield led off with a triple to deep left-center field. Two batters later, Perez contributed once again with a sacrifice fly to left to push the lead to 4-2.

After a walk to Ortega, Danny De Andrade served a soft looper past the dive of Rudd in centerfield for a double. As the ball rolled behind him, Ortega scored on a close play at the plate and De Andrade advanced to third on the throw to give Fort Myers a 5-2 lead.

With the same score in the bottom of the eighth, Rubel Cespedes and Shuffield notched consecutive singles with two outs to place runners at first and second. Dylan Neuse followed with a booming double to left center to drive in both runners and give the Mussels a 7-2 lead.

Relievers Ben Ethridge and Zach Veen slammed the door for Fort Myers, combining on four scoreless innings. Veen closed out the game to notch his first professional save.

The victory gave Fort Myers its fourth win in its last five contests. Jose Olivares (1-0, 2.31) will get the nod for the Mussels today. Coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on the Mighty Mussels Baseball Network.