FORT MYERS – Walker Jenkins finished his season with two more hits and one RBI in the season finale Sunday, but the Mighty Mussels fell 5-3 to the Bradenton Marauders at Hammond Stadium.

Since his promotion to Single-A on Aug. 23, Jenkins slashed .392/.446/.608 with one homer, 10 RBI and three triples over 12 games played. In the process, he struck out just six times amongst 56 plate appearances (10.7%).

With no score in the top of the fourth, the Marauders (76-54, 41-24) loaded the bases on two walks and a hit batter. With one out in the inning, reliever Develson Aria sent a wild pitch to the back stop that scored Lonnie White Jr. to put Bradenton up 1-0. After a walk to Kalae Harrison, Esmerlyn Valdez sent a roller to short. After the Mussels (67-64, 33-32) recorded one out on a force play at second, Yohander Martinez’s relay to first was wide and went into the first base dugout to push across two more runs for the Marauders to make it 3-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Ricardo Olivar doubled to the wall in left with two outs. The next hitter was Nate Baez, who sent a sharp liner to center to score Olivar and make it 3-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jay Harry led off with a single to center. Jenkins followed with a ringing triple to right center to cut the deficit to 3-2. With the tying run 90 feet away, Olivar proceeded to send a sacrifice fly to right to tie the game at 3-3.

The Marauders answered back immediately in the top of the eighth when Enmanuel Terrero singled and Charles McAdoo doubled to begin the frame. With no outs, Omar Alfonzo lifted a sacrifice fly to left that gave Bradenton a 4-3 lead. On the play, McAdoo advanced to third, allowing him to score on a sacrifice fly from Kalae Harrison that extended the lead 5-3.

Despite the loss, the Mussels completed their third consecutive winning season under manager Brian Meyer, racing to the finish line with a record of 17-8 in their final 25 games.

Stay tuned to MightyMussels.com for the reveal of the 2024 schedule as well as the announcement of upcoming events and promotions.

Marauders claim Saturday showdown, 5-4

FORT MYERS – The Mighty Mussels’ pitching staff allowed just three hits Saturday, but the Bradenton Marauders edged Fort Myers 5-4 at Hammond Stadium.

The Mussels’ (67-63, 33-31) bullpen was stout as Danny Moreno, Major-League rehabber Jorge Alcala, Xander Hamilton, and Juan Mendez combined for five hitless innings. The quartet allowed just one run while fanning seven Marauders (75-54, 40-24) hitters in the process.

With no score in the bottom of the second, Alec Sayre reached on an error and Kyle Schmidt walked with one out. After inclement weather delayed the game for half an hour, Gregory Duran walked to load the bases loaded for Dillon Tatum, who drew ball four to force in the game’s first run. The next hitter was Yohander Martinez, who rolled a single to center to score Schmidt and make it 2-0 Mussels. Walker Jenkins kept the line moving with a line-drive single to left that pushed the lead to 3-0. Still with one out in the frame, Danny De Andrade sent a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Tatum and make it 4-0 Fort Myers.

In the top of the fourth, Charles McAdoo singled before Kalae Harrison walked. After both runners stole second and third, Esmerlyn Valdez shot a triple to deep right center to cut the deficit to 4-2. Javier Rivas followed with a bloop single to center that cut the Mussels’ lead to one run. After a walk and wild pitch pushed Rivas to third, Mitch Jebb lifted a sacrifice fly to left that tied the game at 4-4.

In the top of the ninth, Javier Rivas walked and stole second to begin the inning. After a groundout advanced him to third, Jebb sent another sacrifice fly to right to give the Marauders the lead and cap scoring at 5-4.